Painted
by lovelovelove22
Summary: Our tattoo's are the stories of our lives, painted on our skin for all to see.
1. Chapter 1

BPOV

No. Please, God, no. This couldn't be happening to me.

I stared at it in disbelief, my mouth dropping open as my shoulders and hands started to shake. I dropped the pregnancy test on the table and held my head in my hands.

"Well?" Edward walked into the room, holding a glass of water in one hand and a beer in the other. He thrust the water towards me while taking a long sip of his beer. "What did it say?" I didn't respond, just leaned over and took the beer from his hands, gulping it down quickly, and then shoving it back towards him.

"There's your answer." I said gruffly, picking up the pregnancy test and showing him the little blue minus sign. "I'm not pregnant."

Edward sighed quietly and put his arm around me, running his hands through my hair gently. "I'm sorry, babe." He murmured, kissing my temple as I started to cry silently. "It's okay, Bella. It can still happen." He assured me, and I just shook my head pathetically.

"I can't do anything." I said softly as Edward wiped his tears away with his callused, ink stained fingers. "I can't even get pregnant, and we've been trying for a _year._"

"Shh." Edward soothed me, and I sniffled a little more. The tears were stopping, but the whole in my heart was continuing to grow.

I was twenty seven and Edward was thirty, and we had been trying to have a baby for a year, after dating since I was eighteen. We weren't married, and we weren't planning on getting married anytime soon. We both had divorced parents, and didn't want to fail our kids the way our parents had failed us. We loved each other, and neither of us saw any point in finalizing our relationship with something as self-fulfilling and frivolous as marriage.

Edward was the sexiest man I had every laid my eyes on, with his sleeves of tattoo's and stained hands. He was a tattoo artist, and had been the person to give me my one and only tattoo. An _EC_ on the inside of my right thigh, standing for _Edward Cullen_.

I too had my place on his display of body work- he had my name, _Isabella_, tattooed across his otherwise clean chest, right above his heart. So many times I had just traced my fingers and my tongue over the ink permanently painted on his flawless body, and thanks to that I could read him through the ink. Not that I needed to. I knew Edward better than I knew myself.

He had given me everything I had ever wanted, and I could not give him the one thing he asked of me. A baby. The one thing he wanted from me…and it wasn't happening after a year of trying. Edward never pushed me on it, though. He said things would just happen when they happened, and to just keep trying. But I knew how badly he wanted it.

And it was killing me.

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"You gonna come down to the shop tonday to see me?" Edward asked, pulling his shirt on and mussing his bronze colored hair.

I shrugged, still lying on my stomach in our bed. "Yeah, probably. I just have to clean up the apartment a little bit and then I'll be down." I said, rolling over onto my back. Edward nodded, coming over to kiss me on the forehead.

"Love you, B." He said, and then leaned down to kiss my flat stomach. "It'll happen, baby." He said softly, and I nodded wordlessly. "Don't worry." Edward then kissed me quickly on the lips and tapped my nose before he left the apartment.

My fears were sneaking up on me in that moment.

I feared that Edward would want a child so badly he would give up on me, leave, and find someone else to give him what I wanted. I feared that something was wrong with me, making it unable for me to have a child with the man I'm so in love with.

Eventually, I managed to push back my fears and get out of bed, telling myself that it would happen.

Edward and his brother's Jasper and Emmet owned a tattoo parlor, and Edward and I lived in the apartment above the shop. Thanks to all the business the guys were getting, I didn't have to work and spent a lot of time in the shop with Emmet, Jasper, Edward, and Alice, who wasn't a tattoo artist, but specialized in piercings. She was so persuasive- she was responsible for both the small stud in my nose and the tongue ring Edward had.

Before I could go downstairs, I gave the house a quick scrub down until my knuckles started bleeding. I need something, anything, to relieve the pain building up inside of me.

Eventually I got dressed, slipping on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt that was Edward's. Pulling on my converse, I stomped down the stairs and let myself in through the back door of the shop, only to see that the couch and four chairs in the waiting room were taken by customers. Edward was standing at the front desk with his back to me, talking to a female customer.

She was leaning over the counter, her boobs hanging out all over the place as she ran her tongue over her lips, gazing at Edward as he was trying to help her picked out a tattoo to get.

I felt a flare of jealously spark up, so I walked up behind Edward and placed a sloppy kiss to his neck, standing on my tip toes to do so. "Hey, baby." I growled, and the girl rolled her eyes at me, jabbing her finger at a picture in the book.

"That one. On my ankle." She said shortly, and Edward nodded, flipping the book around to get a better look at the tattoo design.

"Okay. Just wait out here while I get the stencil all ready and then I'll come back and get you." He said to her. "And B, can you please handle the desk and phone while I'm doing this?" Edward asked as the girl leaned against the wall and gave me a jealous glare.

"Yeah, sure." I said, leaning my elbows on the desk as Edward headed to one of the back rooms.

"Hey, babe?" He turned around with his hand on the doorknob. I glanced up at him and raised my eyebrows. "You okay?" He asked softly, and I nodded without looking him in the eye.

I knew he wasn't going to let this drop, that he would pick it back up tonight, but he left me in peace for now.

Just then, Jasper came out of one of the back rooms with a slightly overweight blonde girl with a fresh tattoo on her arm. "Make sure you keep it clean and taken care of it, and you can go pay Bella over there at the desk. She'll give you a tube of antiseptic if you need it."

And so my day went. The shop was busy, and I watched customers come and go, observing the stories they had inked on their arms. Getting a tattoo…it's such an intimate thing. Trusting your skin, your body, in the hands of someone else, letting them make you permanently with their artwork? It was serious, and it was deep.

Edward was the only person I would ever let tattoo me. He was the most talented tattoo artist I knew, and managed to give each and every tattoo a personal touch and a flair of individuality. Jasper and Emmet were amazingly talented as well, but I didn't want anybody but Edward making a mark on me.

EPOV

I clicked my tongue ring against my teeth as I worked on the tattoo, trying my hardest not to look at the person I was tattooing. Usually, I believed in not judging a person by their appearances. Like me. Just because I had tattoo's all over my arms didn't mean I couldn't be a mature adult with a long term girlfriend and a business.

But the girl sitting in my chair seemed like a beast inside and out. She had been shamelessly flirting with me and I felt violated as her eyes raked over me again.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" The girl, Jessica, suddenly blurted out, wincing as the needle hit a bone. She was sitting with her foot propped up on my lower thigh, and I kept getting distracted as she wiggling her toes, making the glitter nail polish on them sparkle brightly.

"Yeah." I said, shortly.

Jessica eyed me for a moment, probably trying to size me up. "What's her name? How long have you been dating?" She asked, and I was seriously starting to consider breaking the rules and yelling at a customer.

"Her name is Bella." I said gruffly, clicking my tongue ring again as I continued to work. "We've been dating for…a long time." Jessica finally fell silent, just watched my hands move carefully as I continued the tattoo on her ankle.

Nine years. It was nine fucking years ago that I met Bella and she completely changed me. It sounds corny as hell, but I never wanted to stay with one woman for a long period of time…until I met her. Even though neither of us were believers of marriage, I wanted to be with her forever.

The only thing threatening our relationship were her own insecurities. After eight years together, Bella and I decided to start trying to have a baby. She got off the pill and we stopped buying condoms, sure that after a few months we'd 'get pregnant'. But it's been a year now, and nothing. Bella's period comes every twenty eight days, like clockwork, except for the occasional month when she would be a couple of days late. Like yesterday.

Apparently her period had been over a week late, and Bella had come running into the apartment with a drugstore bag which I knew would contain a pregnancy test. She had been ecstatic, saying that she had _never _been more than three days late and this just had to be it.

I had waited patiently, grabbing a beer for myself and a water bottle for her, praying to myself that the test would be positive this time. Last time it came out negative, Bella had cried for two hours straight. Hell, I loved her, but I am _not_ good with crying women.

By the time I had walked into the living room, she was sitting there with her head in her hands. Although I feared I already knew the answer, I asked anyway. "Well? What did it say?"

Seeing her like this killed me. Bella was pushing herself so hard and blaming herself for not being able to get pregnant. I had told her time and time again maybe we should _both_ go to the doctor, but she declined, saying we just needed to keep trying. So I went along with that mantra; _keep trying_, _it'll happen_.

I definitely didn't mind the 'trying' part. Getting dragged into bed by your sexy girlfriend to have hot sex every single night? _Great, I'll take it_. But what I did mind was seeing her when the tests kept coming back negative.

Seeing woman I love in pain isn't easy. Especially when it happens so often.

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The morning dragged on until lunch, when I finally got a break. My two brothers, Emmet and Jasper, and Jasper's girlfriend Alice, were already eating lunch, along with Bella.

"Hey."I said, sitting down on the sofa next to Bella and stealing kiss.

"Hey." Bella replied, smiling. But the smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

Everyone else was silent, obviously able to sense the tension between us. It was like this every time. After the tests came back, Bella would instantly go into a shell, secluding herself in sadness. Even though my brothers and Alice didn't know we were trying to have a baby, I think they could tell something was up.

"Are you two okay?" Alice broke the tense silence, and Bella glanced at her in surprise.

"Um, yeah…why?" She asked, her shoulders tensing up.

Alice narrowed her eyes at us, trying to pick up on what was wrong, but then she gave up. "I don't know, you guys have just been acting really weird for a while now." She shrugged, taking a bite of her salad as she continued to eye us suspiciously. "Are you sure everything is…good?"

"We're fine." Bella snapped, and Alice recoiled slightly. Both Emmet and I got off the couch, heading towards the back to get more to eat.

"Damn, Edward. That right there is exactly why I don't need a woman in my life long term. I love Alice and Bella, but they get _crazy_." He chuckled, but I didn't laugh."

"Shut the fuck up, Emmet. You can make fun of me and Jazz because we're brothers, but girlfriends are off limits." I snapped, and Emmet rolled his eyes.

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**Hmm..what did you guys think?**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the great response to this story! I love an inked Edward, but I wanted to give him a new twist. And I don't think **_**I've**_** ever read a story about Edward and Bella not being able to get pregnant.**

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BPOV

I hate every single piece of clothing in my closet. I stood there, wearing only my underwear, and searching for something appropriate to wear to lunch.

Edward's mom only came into town a couple times a year. The rest of the time, she lived in California, where her boyfriend of two years, Carlisle, was a doctor and Esme planned parties. I like Esme and Carlisle just fine, but I was honestly sick and tired of Esme trying to convince me that Edward and I needed to get married. The woman has had our wedding planned for a good five years.

We've told her time and time again that we don't want to get married, and she never listens.

"Are you ready to go?" Edward asked, coming into the bedroom and buttoning up his black shirt. "Carlisle and Esme are already at the restaurant."

"Yeah, just a second." I said, grabbing a grey dress out of my closet and slipping it on over my head. "Which ones?" I asked him, holding up a pair of heels in one hand and a pair of flats in the other.

"Heels." Edward said without really looking, and I stepped into them. "You need another tattoo." He said randomly, leaning against the door while I quickly applied my mascara. I raised my eyebrows and peered at him from the corner of my eye, still working on my makeup application.

He's crazy if he thinks I'm getting anywhere _near _one of those needles again. "Um, I've already got one, and I believe I told you that was the limit." I pointed out, yanking up the skirt of my dress to flash him the tattoo, my homage to him, which was inked on my thigh.

"Just one more, B. Please?" He whined, and I sighed, capping my mascara and tossing it on the dresser.

"I'll think about it." I said vaguely, and Edward rolled his eyes, stretching his hand out to me.

I took it, and he squeezed my hand tightly as we walked out of the apartment. "If you do, I want to do it." He said firmly.

"Trust me, Edward, if anybody gets to do it, it'll be you." I laughed, and Edward pecked me on the lips before leading me downstairs and into the car.

Edward was the only person in the world that I could show my entire soul to. He was the only one who wouldn't judge or misunderstand, because he knew what it felt like.

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"Edward! Bella!" Esme Cullen called loudly, waving us over to their table. Edward and I weaved through the restaurant clutching hands, smiling at Esme and Carlisle and waving halfheartedly. I was already dreading the wedding talk that was sure to come.

"Hey, mom…Carlisle." Edward said as both Esme and Carlisle stood up from the table to dole out a round of hugs.

As soon as we all said our hellos, we sat down at the table and Edward's hand immediately went to my knee, drawing lazy circles on the bare skin. "How was your flight?" I asked, taking a sip of the water that was already sitting in front of me.

"It was fine, thanks. Emmet and Jasper and Alice met us at the airport and we had breakfast and then we went shopping a little bit downtown." Esme said with a smile, smoothing down her bronze colored hair, which was the exact same shade as Edward's.

I swear to you, Esme Cullen has not aged a day in the nine years I have known her. She still has great legs and a toned body, even though she is well into her fifties. I have never seen the woman wear a pair of pants- she always wore skirts and heels, even in the winter. She's simple, though. The only jewelry she wears is her mother's wedding ring (worn on her right hand, though), earrings, and the necklace Edward and I got her for her fiftieth birthday. She's like a second mother to me, though, despite her many eccentricities.

She and Carlisle had been dating for two years now, and I can safely say that they are closer to the alter than Edward and I are. Carlisle was married in his twenties, but his wife unfortunately passed away in childbirth, and their son died not an hour later. Despite the hardships of his past, Carlisle is always smiling. The only wrinkles on his handsome face were laugh lines and a couple around his eyes. That and the slight graying of the hair at his temples are the only indications of how old he is.

"What have you too been up to lately?" Esme asked, smirking at us. "Any news to share with us?"

What did I tell you? Not ten minutes into the conversation and she's already asking us about getting married.

"Yeah, I got a tattoo on my ass." Edward deadpanned, and Esme's eyes widened in horror.

"Edward!" She exclaimed, keeping her voice from getting too shrill. "It's bad enough that your arms are completely covered, but-"

"Oh, relax, Esme." Carlisle said, catching on quickly. "He's just kidding." Edward and Carlisle and I burst into laughter, but Esme just rolled her eyes and sipped on her water until we had composed ourselves.

Once we had finished laughing, Esme put the conversation back on track. "I'm serious, you two. It's been nine years, when are you going to give me a grandchild?" She whined, and Edward and I exchanged a guilty look. She didn't know just how hard we were trying to do that.

"You don't need to be married to have a baby." Edward pointed out lightly, peeking up at his mother through his eyelashes as he ducked his head.

"Honestly, what about marriage is so repulsive to the two of you?" Esme asked, frustrated. "You've been dating for nine years, and you're really telling me you don't want to settle down?" She hesitated for a moment, and then sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so rude…"

"It's fine." I interrupted, smiling at her. "We just don't see the point. We're happy now, why jeopardize that by getting married?"

Esme narrowed her eyes at us and shook her head. "I just don't understand you, I suppose." She sighed, and Edward rolled his eyes.

"Mom…just stop, okay? I promise you, you'll get a grandchild. But don't count on Bella and I getting married."

"So you're going to have children?" Esme practically pounced on us, her eyes lighting up and her smile growing wide. Carlisle chuckled quietly, shaking his head back and forth slightly as he watched the scene in front of him unfold.

"Yes, Esme." I said, my voice a little rougher than usual. "We want kids, but maybe not right now. We don't know when it will happen." Edward cast me a look and I saw the corners of his mouth droop slightly. He leaned over to kiss my temple reassuringly, and then joined back into the conversation.

I glanced at Carlisle, an idea immediately forming in my head. Carlisle was a doctor…maybe I could talk to him about why Edward and I can't get pregnant. Or maybe he could give me the name of a different doctor I could talk to.

Yes, I decided. I was going to get to the bottom of this once and for all.


	3. Chapter 3

**The banner for this story is on my profile along with all my other banners!**

**This story will have a little angst, but there is nothing to the extreme.**

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BPOV

I waited until Edward went down to shop, and then quickly flipped through the address book we kept in the kitchen to find Carlisle's cell phone number. I found it easily, and then grabbed my cell phone to make the call.

As the phone dialed, I hopped up onto the kitchen counter and sat there, kicking my legs back and forth slightly and chewing on my stubby thumbnail.

"Hello?" Carlisle answered, and I took a deep breath.

"Carlisle, this is Bella. I was wondering if maybe I could talk to you…as a patient." Carlisle seemed taken aback, but then snapped into a professional mode.

"Sure, Bella. Do you want to me to come over to your apartment-"

"No, I don't want Edward to know." I said quickly, cutting him off. "Maybe I could meet you at the coffee shop? It's on the corner of street." Carlisle hesitated again, and I held my breath until he answered me.

I thought maybe he wouldn't want to help me. "That sounds fine. I'll be there in about fifteen minutes."

I thanked him and hung up the phone, staring at the wall in front of me. At the least, Carlisle could recommend a doctor who could help me with my problem. Hopefully, everything would soon be cleared up and Edward and I could finally have the baby we had been trying so hard for.

Pulling on my jacket, and hurried down the stairs and into the shop, where Alice and Jasper were talking quietly on the couch, cuddling together. Edward and Emmet were nowhere to be seen, so I figured they must have been doing work on someone. "Hey, where's Edward?" I asked Alice, who's eyes widened happily at the sound of my voice.

"Oh, he's in chair one." Alice said, waving her head distractedly towards the back room. I nodded in thanks and walked into the back, wanting to tell Edward that I was ducking out.

"Edward, sorry to interrupt-" I stuck my head in the room and my eyes widened.

It wasn't Edward who was _giving _the tattoo. He was getting one. "Oh." I stammered, and Edward's head shot up. He was lying on his stomach and gripping the edge of the chair while Emmet was tattooing his back. Emmet glanced up briefly, but then regained his focus. "You're getting another one?" I asked, wondering why he hadn't told me.

"Uh, yeah." Edward said, wincing slightly with the needle hit a bone. A hiss escaped from in between his clenched teeth and I saw his hands tighten around the padding of the chair.

"What does it say?" I asked, with no idea why I was feeling so awkward.

This time, Emmet piped up. "L'amore vincerà tutte le." He said quickly, wiping away some excess ink that had pooled. "Love will conquer all."

"Okay. It looks really good." I said lamely, and then leaned over to give Edward a kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to the bookstore real quick and then I'm going to grab some coffee from down the street." I was lying about the bookstore part. As much as I would like to pick up a new novel, I had more important things to get to. "Do you want me to get you anything?"

"Thanks, but no." Edward said, smiled crookedly at me.

"Emmet?" I asked, and he shook his head, biting his tongue between his teeth as he tried to concentrate. "Okay, love you." I said to Edward.

"Love you too." Edward murmured, and I left the room feeling strange. It didn't bother me that Edward was getting another tattoo- I loved all the work he had- but I was surprised he hadn't told me about it. Maybe it was just a spur of the moment thing, I didn't know.

By the time I got to the coffee shop, I could see Carlisle sitting in the far corner, talking on his phone. When I nervously approached him, he saw me and hung up, gesturing for me to sit down. He had already gotten me a coffee. "Bella." He said warmly, patting my hand as I got situated. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well…at lunch today…you remember what Edward and I said about having children? Well…"

"You're already pregnant?" Carlisle guessed, and my heart ached at that. How I wished I were already pregnant…I had been so sure.

"No." I said shortly, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. "That's the problem. When we said we didn't know when it would happen…it's because it's _not_ _happening_." I said in a low voice, my cheeks flushing. "We've been trying…and-"

Carlisle's eyebrows furrowed, and he took a drink of his coffee. "How many cycles have you been trying?" He asked, and I counted back the exact months.

"Thirteen." I said, gripping my own cup of coffee tightly.

"And you've been completely off the pill, no condoms, no contraceptives of any kind?" He asked, and I nodded. "You don't have any STD's?" He asked, lowering his voice.

"No. We both got tested when we first started dating, and neither of us have been screwing around, so no." I said, forcing myself to stay calm and not get embarrassed. Carlisle was, after all, a doctor. And we were talking about a serious thing here.

He frowned for a moment, tapping his long fingers against the tabletop. "It could be anything, from a genetic problem or maybe your ovulation is off…I can't really tell you for certain what it could be. I don't specialize in OB/GYN, but I have a good friend from med school who is held in high esteem among those of his profession. You don't want Edward to know about this?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't want him to know until I find out if something is wrong." I explained, and Carlisle nodded in understanding.

"Then I'll give you my friends number. His name is Dr. Gerandy, and he works in Forks, Washington. It's several hours away, but-"

"It's fine. I'll make an appointment and then drive there myself." I said quickly as Carlisle pulled out his phone and started to scroll through his contact list.

He forward Dr. Gerandy's number to me, and I thanked him profusely, giving him a long hug as we both stood up. "Thank you so much, Carlisle. And please do not tell anyone, especially not Edward or Esme." I said, and Carlisle nodded. "I'll let you know what the results say." I added.

"Good luck, Bella." Carlisle said sincerely as we walked towards the door. "I hope everything works out."

I smiled and looked down at the coffee in my head before meeting his kind blue eyes again. "Thanks. Me too."

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**Woo! I typed that super fast, it took less than an hour to type and proof read! Please review and let me know if you like the story so far, and I will answer any questions you have!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	4. Chapter 4

**There's something up with fanfic! It won't send me any review/story/author alerts! **

**Oh well. I hope you are enjoying the story.**

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EPOV

Emmet and I watched as Bella left, and Emmet snorted through his nose before resuming his work. "You didn't tell her you're getting another tattoo?" He asked incredulously. "Why not?" I shifted my head uncomfortably, sighing.

"I don't know, it wasn't a planned tattoo or anything…I just wanted it." I grumbled. "It's not a big deal, she doesn't care." Emmet didn't respond, and we fell into a comfortable silence, only interrupted by my occasional hisses of pain. I let my mind wander, getting my mind off things.

I knew that when I went upstairs, Bella would either be mad or crying; I had seen both reactions from her to a negative pregnancy test. I had handle the anger- she usually just shouted and stomped her feet for a little while. It was the sadness I hated to see- Bella would just cry until she fell asleep in my arms, and then she'd cry in her sleep.

The conversation with my mother definitely hadn't helped the situation. It wasn't Esme's fault, she didn't know, but the look in Bella's eyes during that conversation had been hard to stomach.

"I'm done." Emmet interrupted my thoughts, and I flexed my sore muscles experimentally. They were slightly sore from being in the same position for several hours without a break. Emmet flexed his hand as well, shaking it back and forth. "You know the drill." He said. "And you've got antiseptic, right?"

"Yeah, I'll have Bella clean it up for me." I said, getting up off the chair and grabbing my shirt of the table. "Thanks, man." I added, walking towards the front of the shop while Emmet stayed behind to clean up. He tilted his chin as a response, focusing on sterilizing everything.

I walked out into the shop without my shirt on, but luckily no one was there to see my half naked self, just Alice. "Let me see it!" She squealed from behind the counter, but I shook my head and opened the door that led to the stairs to Bella and I's apartment.

"Not now, Alice." I mumbled, and then headed upstairs, slamming the door behind me. "Bella?" I called, walking into the apartment and tossing my shirt on the couch.

"I'm in here!" Bella called from the bedroom, and I picked my shirt back up and walked into the room.

Pausing as I tossed my shirt in the hamper next to our bedroom door, I smiled wryly. Bella was sitting on the bed, naked except for a black thong. "Baby…" I trailed off, taking in her red nose and eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked quietly, sitting on the bed next to her and wiping away some of the tears that had pooled her under eyes.

"I'm ovulating." She said stubbornly, and I shook my head.

"You're crying." I murmured, putting my arm around her and wincing slightly when I did so thanks to my tattoo. "Why don't we just talk for a little while? When you calm down we can-"

"I like your tattoo." Bella whispered, craning her neck to get a good look at it. "But you didn't tell me about it."

I kissed the top of her head as she started to trace her fingers over the various tattoos on my arms. "It wasn't really planned." I assured her, moving my hand to touch her own tattoo. She jumped slightly when my cold hands touched her warm flesh, but then relaxed as I continued to stroke the tattoo. "Bella, I think we should hold off for tonight. Tomorrow night, we'll be in Vegas and I swear to you, I'll stick it to you then." I promised, and Bella rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Edward, you're so romantic." She said sarcastically, flicking the back of my head. "But okay. Honestly, I'm not exactly in the mood right now." She added in a somber tone, leaned her head against my shoulder and then touching the tattoo over my heart, the one that was her name. "I'm tired." She whispered, closing her eyes.

"Take a nap." I said quickly, picking her up and moving for towards the head of the bed so that she was more comfortable. "I'll get dinner started and wake you up when it's done."

Bella nodded sleepily and closed her eyes. I think she was asleep before I was even out of the room.

Tomorrow afternoon Emmet, Bella, and I were going to Las Vegas to see my dad. Jasper and Alice couldn't come, they had volunteered to stay behind and get some clients in. Although business was good, we tried never to take to many days off. After all, Bella and I's child's education was depending on the tattoo parlor.

My dad, Ed, was the President of Operations at one of the big Vegas hotels on the strip. I couldn't remember the specific hotel/casinos name, but it didn't matter. We got rooms cheap, thanks to my dad. I didn't gamble as much as Emmet did, and neither did Bella. My big plans involved getting drunk and having sex.

Was this really what my life was boiling down to? Drinking, working, and knocking up my girlfriend?

BPOV

"Did you pack my…basal thermometer thing?" I called to Edward, rifling through our suitcase.

He popped his head out of the bathroom, toothbrush in hand. "Um, yeah. It's in your makeup bag. Why do you use that thing, anyway?"

I shrugged, zipping my makeup bag open to ensure that he had actually packed it. Sure enough, it was there. "I use it to chart my temperatures. If the temperature raises and stays high, then I'm pregnant. If it drops drastically after ovulation, then I'm not." I explained, zipping my makeup back shut.

"Oh." Edward said, crinkling his nose before going back into the bathroom. "And B, I put our plane tickets on the kitchen counter." He added loudly, and I heard the bathroom sink turn on. "We should probably get going."

Edward came out of the bathroom again, tossing his toothbrush into the bag and pulling his shirt on over his head and grimacing when the material rubbed against his raw tattoo. "Okay, come on." I said, closing the suitcase. "Emmet is waiting downstairs and he has a taxi waiting too."

With any luck, we would get to Vegas and then have a little time to ourselves. Maybe I would get pregnant before my appointment with Dr. Gerandy in four days.

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**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	5. Author's Note

**You know nothing good can come of a chapter alert that only has several hundred words. And this is no exception. With the holidays and my pregnancy going on, I'm just way too busy to update as much as I have previously. So just know that I probably won't be updating in the next month or so. I just finished up 'My Love, My Life', and after writing those fifty chapters, plus all the other stories I've been updating, I'm exhausted. **

**So I'm on a hiatus, for now. I will update sometimes, but it will be very scarce. I need a break. I think I've developed carpal tunnel from typing so much, and my eyes sting when I look at a computer screen. Mellie needs a good rest.**

**I hope all of you have a very happy holiday season, and I will see you all again next year.**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**

**P.S. Some of you may notice that I deleted some of my stories, including 'Attempts', 'No Regrets', and 'Forbidden'. It's my personal opinion that these stories suck and I don't want them looking me in the face anymore. They are gone, I never want to see them again.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Just finished my story 'My Love, My Life'…with 51 chapters! Woo! It only took me two months to get that entire story done, so I am pretty damn proud of myself.**

**Like I said, I'm toning down with my updates, but I managed to get this one out. It's short and sweet…but a lot happens. It's a very important chapter.**

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EPOV

"Fuck, I'm drunk." I muttered, before pulling Bella against me and kissing her roughly.

"So am I." Bella giggled, taking my face in her hands and continuing to kiss me, our tongues tangling. "What the hell did we drink downstairs?" She slurred, heavily falling back onto the bed and pulling me down along with her. "All I know is that we drank a _lot_ of it."

I laughed loudly, and drunkenly, and shrugged my shoulders, continuing to kiss her until she pulled back a little and sniffled slightly. I looked down at her face and was shocked to see that she was crying. "What's wrong, B?" I mumbled, my brain buzzing.

"Let's get married." Bella said suddenly, wiping away her tears and rolling off the bed. "I wanna get married." She said, her words slurring even more and stumbling a little bit.

Staring at her, my mouth dropped open. "What?" I managed to ask, blinking several times and trying to see what she was trying to say to me. All the alcohol in my system was making it impossible, though. And Bella, who was in the midst of tying her shoes, looked up at me with tears still in her big brown eyes. I hated to see her cry, even when I was slobbering drunk like I was now.

"You don't want me?" She asked, nearly falling over. "You don't want to marry me?"

"No…I do. I love you. More than anything, B." I said, swallowing and grinning. "Yeah, let's get married." I said, shrugging my shoulders and laughing loudly. "Find us some witnesses…and get married." My words were slurring even worse and before leaving the room I grabbed the bottle of vodka of the dresser and taking another swig. "Come on, baby." I mumbled, wrapping my arm around Bella's neck and stumbling out of the room with her.

Let's go and get married…why the fuck not?

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The next morning I opened my eyes and winced immediately in the harsh light. "_Fuck_." I spat, rubbing my temples and flopping back onto the bed. Bella shifted beside me and groaned as well, obviously feeling the same exact aftershocks of drinking that I was.

"Edward…what in God's name happened last night? I feel disgusting. Like complete shit." Bella asked, rolling over and burying her head in the crook of my neck.

"I don't know. All I remember is that we drank. We drank a lot." I mumbled, scratching the top of my head absentmindedly and rubbed my eyes. I felt Bella's weight shift again as she sat up. And then she was uncharacteristically silent.

"Edward." She whispered, and I moaned.

"_What_?" I asked irately, trying to fall back asleep.

I heard Bella take a deep breath and then she grabbed my left hand and pulled tightly. "What the fuck is your problem, B?" I asked grumpily as she started tugging on my ring finger for some unknown reason.

"I think I know what we did last night." She whispered, and I opened my eyes again to look at her. When I finally did, she was holding a gold ring up for me to see. I stared at it, my eyes widening and my splitting headache was suddenly the last thing on my mind.

"What. Is. That?" I asked in a whisper, and Bella held up her own left hand, showing me that there was a gold ring on her ring finger as well. It looked like…like a wedding ring.

"We…we got married, Edward." She said, looking and sounding as dumbfounded as I felt. "Oh my god, we got married…fuck!" She spat, throwing the ring at me. I fumbled to catch it, and then held it tightly in my hand, making a fist around the gold band.

Married. We got married…Bella and I got married in a drunken stupor. This wasn't what we had planned, or what we had wanted for ourselves. But now that it was done…what were we going to do? We were in love and had been dating for nine years, so what was to be done? Breaking up wasn't an option; I wasn't giving Bella up under any circumstance.

So…we would stay married?

"I can't believe we did this." Bella muttered.

"But…what are we going to do?" I asked, and Bella didn't speak. "I don't want to break up." I added, and Bella raised her eyebrows at me. It was then that I noticed she was twisting the gold ring around her finger now.

She shook her head frantically, grabbing my hand. "Neither do I, Edward. I just wasn't expecting this. Getting married…isn't exactly our style. And Esme is going to kill us." She added, and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't remind me." I muttered, and then arched my neck to get a glimpse of the clock on the nightstand. "Now we should probably get dressed…we're having lunch with my dad in an hour." I sat up and brought my lips to hers, kissing her briefly before rolling out of bed and rubbing my temples again.

I'm married. Bella and I are…_married._

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**So there's a nice short update. What do you think?**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	7. Chapter 7

**I should have made it much more clear, I'm sorry! Edward and Bella were in Vegas, that's why they were able to get married so quickly and so late at night. Don't forget, they went to Vegas to visit Edward and Emmet and Jasper's father.**

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BPOV

Edward and I walked down to the lobby slowly, stiffly holding hands and looking anywhere but at each other. I couldn't believe we had fucked up so badly last night by getting married. It didn't matter that we had been dating for so long or that we were in love…it was that marriage just wasn't us. It wasn't what we had wanted for ourselves.

"Hey, there's the happy couple." Emmet suddenly walked up next to us, putting his arm around my shoulders. "How's the honeymoon going?"

I stared at my _brother in law_ for a moment, narrowing my eyes. "You know!?" I screeched, causing several people to look over at the three of us. Edward shushed me and Emmet tried to contain a laugh, but failed miserably.

"Of course I know, I was there. You and Eddie knocked on my door last night and wanted me to be your witness. So I drove you to the chapel." He said easily, and I smacked him in the arm.

"Why the hell did you let us get married?" Edward hissed. "We didn't want to get married, you idiot, and you knew that! _Fuck_!" He growled, and then ran his hands through his hair. "Listen to me, Emmet. Don't say anything to _anyone _about us getting married." I nodded in agreement and Edward took a deep breath, taking my hand again and then started pulling me through the lobby without another word.

By the time we got to lunch with Ed, Emmet was grinning that an idiot and Edward had become moody and gruff.

"Hey, kids." Ed said happily as we approached the table. He hugged each of his sons briefly and then turned to look at me, grinning. "Bella, you get more and more beautiful every single time I see you!" He said earnestly, giving me a hug as well before pulling out my chair for me to sit down. "You're a lucky guy, son." He said to Edward, who smiled tightly.

Lunch was slightly awkward, but if Ed noticed he didn't say or acknowledge anything. He just talked most of the time, pausing only to eat, drink, or listen to something one of us said.

Even though this lunch was the whole reason we had come to Las Vegas, I couldn't wait for it to be over. I wanted to get home and…as horny as this sounded…I wanted to sex up my boyfriend. Except he wasn't my boyfriend anymore. He was my motherfucking _husband, _like it or not.

What he had said to Emmet, telling him not to say anything, sounded perfectly fine to me. We could just continue the rest of our lives with people thinking we would never get married and nobody had to know, as far as I was concerned. Being married wasn't a big deal to me and Edward, so no one else needed to have an input or even _know_. Especially Esme, who would freak out on us.

As lunch finished up and we were about to leave, Ed suddenly caught my arm. "Bella, I need to talk to you and Edward…alone. I'll come up to your hotel room in ten minutes." He said, and then followed Emmet out of the restaurant. Edward lingered, putting his arm around my shoulders and frowning.

"What did he want?" Edward asked, jutting his chin towards Ed, who was exiting the restaurant.

"He wants to talk to us." I explained. "We need to get back to our hotel room and…um, clean up before Ed comes up to talk." I said with a blush, remembering the clothes strewn around our hotel room and the bottles of liquor still sitting out on the dresser and nightstand.

Edward raised his eyebrows but didn't comment. We stayed quiet as we headed back to our hotel room, and then started cleaning up immediately. Well, I did. Edward flopped down on the couch and started to watch television.

"Is this how it's going to be now?" I asked angrily, tossing my bra from last night into the open suitcase. "Just because we got married doesn't me you can just loaf around."

He rolled his eyes, but turned the television off and stood up off the couch, tossing several clothing items into the suitcase and smirking cockily at me. "There. I helped. What the fuck does my dad want to talk about anyway?" He asked, gathering up the empty liquor bottles and discarding them.

"No idea." I replied, going up behind him and kissing the tattoo _Cullen _tattoo on the back of his neck. "But it's probably no big deal. You know your dad…whenever we come to see him he always gets a bit cryptic and mysterious. It's all a big game to Ed."

Just as I spoke, the door to our room clicked open slightly and Ed walked in, brandishing his all access room key to do so. "Whoa, can't you knock?" Edward asked playfully, stretching out on the sofa again. "We could have been naked."

I blushed but Ed just rolled his eyes and gestured for me to sit down. "I'll make this quick. I know you got married last night." He said bluntly, and Edward and I's mouths dropped open. "If you don't want your mother to know, I won't say anything. But you two need to get things sorted out."

"Um…how do you know?" I asked weakly, sitting down on the couch and tossing my legs across Edward's lap.

"Emmet." Ed said simply. "He told me before we had lunch, and the boy couldn't stop laughing. I'm guessing this wasn't a planned thing?"

"No, definitely not." Edward said, squeezing my thigh gently. "I mean, we just don't…it's not what we wanted for us. We want to be together and we want a family, but getting married-"

Ed narrowed his eyes suddenly, a smile emerging on his serious face. "A family? Really?" He asked eagerly, and my heart warmed slightly at the excited look on his face.

"Yes, Ed. We want to have a family, but we never planned on getting married. You and Esme are divorced, so are my parents, and we didn't want to get married and risk that for us."

Because that was really what I was most afraid of; Edward and I's relationship not being able to survive the strain and pressure that marriage can cause on a relationship. Sure, we've been dating for nine years, but dating is nothing compared to marriage.

And I still don't know if we're going to be able to handle this, or even how we'll attempt it.

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**Typed this up while my husband, the man child brigade, and a few of our other friends were watching Night at the Museum! I hope you all have a happy new year and a safe 2010!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	8. Chapter 8

**Yes, Bella and Edward were technically in a common-law marriage. But they're still freaking out now because a legalized marriage is much more than that with responsibility and whatnot.**

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BPOV

"We need to file for a joint checking account." I told Edward as we walked into our apartment. Upon finally getting back from Vegas, Edward had agreed to a little baby-making before he went down to the shop. "And do stuff with insurance and power of attorney…" I added, walking into the bedroom and stripping my clothes off as I did so. Edward followed close behind me, taking his clothes off as well.

"Let's handle that tomorrow." He said, stalking towards me wearing only his boxers.

I giggled as he pushed me back onto the mattress and attacked my lips with his own as his hands roamed every inch of my naked body. His head ducked and he started kissing and licking his way down to my breasts; his tongue ring pleasantly cold against my hot skin. It was then I suddenly, and inconveniently, remembered that I had an appointment with Dr. Gerandy tomorrow, meaning I would have to drive all the way to Forks. "Tomorrow isn't good for me." I said in between moans. "I…uh, I kind of have a doctor's appointment."

Edward stopped his ministrations and looked up at me, his eyes heavily lidded and dark. "What?"

Pulling away from him slightly, I sat up and started tracing the tattoos on his arm with the tip of my finger. "Well, I'm kind of worried." I confided, drawing my knees up to my chest. "It's been a year…and I don't know why we can't do this. Honestly, I _need_ to know what is keeping us for having a baby. So I talked to Carlisle and he recommended a specialist for me to see in Forks, Washington. I have an appointment tomorrow." I blurted out, and Edward stared at me for a long moment.

"Okay. I'll come too." He said easily, and my jaw dropped.

"Seriously?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at me.

He shrugged, and then got up off the bed and started getting redressed. "Well, if you're getting tested for all this stuff, I probably should too. I mean, it could be me." Edward pointed out. "But do we really have to go all the way to Forks? Isn't that like three or four hours away?" He asked, buttoning his shirt up and fiddling with the collar.

"Um…I guess not, that's just who Carlisle recommended. We could always just go to the hospital here." I shrugged my shoulders, surprised at his reaction. "And why are you getting dressed?" I added, frowning as he yanked his jeans up and put his belt back on.

"Bella, I think that this can wait a day." He said kindly, walking over to the edge of the bed and kissing me on the lips, and then kissing my nose, right over the piercing there. "Besides, I'm going to need this mental picture," He gestured to my vey naked body "if I'm ever going to jack off into a cup." I laughed and swatted his butt as he left the room.

A few moments passed, and then I finally dragged my butt out of bed and put some clothes on, and then picked up the phone to cancel my appointment with Dr. Gerandy. After doing so, the ring on my left finger caught my eye as I put the phone down.

Sighing, I lifted my hand and looked at the plain band, a whole new slew of emotions hitting me. I was _married_. Sure, the man in question was the love of my life, but still…it didn't feel right.

My current plan would be to not tell _anyone_ and just continue to live our lives as we had before this whole disaster. We would stay together, have a baby, and just try not to acknowledge what had happened in Vegas. It sounded weird, even to me, but I don't think I can do this. I've seen what marriage can do to people, and although it works out wonderfully for some, I'm terrified that Edward and I might be the kind of couple that can't handle it. So I want to ignore it. Except for some of the legal things, of course.

This shouldn't be to difficult…right?

EPOV

"How was your weekend?" Alice chirped, flouncing over to me the second I walked behind the desk. There wasn't anyone in the waiting room, and Emmet and Jasper were both doing tattoos in the back.

"It was fine." I said shortly, not looking up from the paperwork I was signing. "My dad says hi, by the way. He said that he'll come up for a visit one of these days." I added nonchalantly, and Alice just _hmmed_ in response. It was then that I realized that I was still wearing my fucking wedding band. I hastily slipped my hand under the counter and pulled the ring off, stashing it in the pocket of my jeans.

Alice didn't seem to notice, she was focusing on her brightly painted fingernails. "I heard that Emmet picked up a girl on the plane ride back." She suddenly said slyly, and I laughed, still not looking up.

"Yeah, Rosaline or Rosalie or…something like that, I don't know. He probably just wants to bang her." I said bluntly, picturing the leggy blonde that had sat down next to Emmet on the plane. She was sexy, curvy, and seemed slutty, just the kind of girl my oldest brother was interested in.

"Probably." Alice snorted, probably remembering all the other girls he had been with throughout the three years she had known him. "So, where's Bella?" She asked, and I glanced up at her, crinkling my eyebrows together.

"She's upstairs. Why?"

Alice shot me a confused look. "Um…she's my best friend, dumbass. I just want to talk to her." With that, she flitted upstairs before I could say anything. I just hoped Bella had put some clothes on- I didn't appreciate other people seeing my damn wife naked.

Fuck. Bella was my _wife_. I still couldn't get that through my mind.

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**Ha! I've updated three stories today, and might get one more update in tonight for 'Letting Go'. I'm basically just in beast mode today, make no doubts.**

**Please, please, please review!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	9. Chapter 9

**Cheez-its are so delicious. I think I've eaten like four boxes this week!**

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BPOV

I held my ring up to the light, still trying to wrap my mind around the whole idea of being _married_. Just as I was about to put the ring back on, Alice burst into the apartment. I froze and so did Alice, her wide eyes focused on the ring I was slipping onto my finger.

"Oh my god!" She screeched. "Are you getting married? Did he ask? Why didn't-" She paused and started sneezing like crazy, like she always did when she was excited. I waited patiently for her to calm down, and my heart was practically pounding out of my chest. Now that Alice knew, we were totally and completely screwed. Alice was my best friend, bless her heart, but she was lousy at keeping secrets. "Bella, come on, tell me everything!" Alice urged, sitting down on a barstool next to me.

"We got drunk in Vegas and got married." I muttered under my breath, jamming the ring on my finger.

Alice narrowed her eyes. "You got married without me?" She asked pathetically, her lower lip sticking out. I rolled my eyes and tousled my hair.

"It wasn't exactly something we were planning on doing." I pointed out, and Alice shrugged her shoulders. "Look, Ali, I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't say anything about this to anyone. Not Jasper, not Emmet, and especially not Edward."

"Not Edward? Why not?" Alice asked.

"He's already freaking out, and he doesn't want to tell anyone at all. Alice, we didn't want to _ever_ get married. Imagine our surprise when we woke up in a Las Vegas hotel room, hungover and married. It was terrible. _And_ Emmet knows. And so does Ed." I admitted.

Her eyes widened again and she grabbed my arm. "Dear god, Bella. Emmet, Ed, and I are the only ones you're going to tell?" She asked, and I nodded my head. "That's crazy. Bella, you're married after being together for nine fucking years. Tell your parents. Tell Edward's parents. And for the love of god, let me tell Jazz!"

I shook my head, taking a deep breath as I did so. "Okay, fine. Tell Jasper, but please don't let him say anything either." I hesitated for a moment, wondering what my parents would say if I told them I had gotten married in Las Vegas. "We're not going to tell Esme and Carlisle or Charlie and Renée until we get some things sorted out, okay? Things are just so fucked up now…"

Alice patted my arm sympathetically, but I could see that her mind was working a mile a minute. "Is this why Edward is acting so pissy?" She asked in a low voice, and my head shot up.

"He is?" I asked, my voice cracking slightly.

"Yeah, he's acting antsy and nervous and not at all like himself." Alice said, and then an apple off of the counter, examined it, and took a big bite. "Don't take it personally, Bella. He's just angst-y and shit, like always."

I nodded again, knowing that my _husband_ could get pissed off pretty damn quickly at the stupidest things. It was one of the only things I didn't love about him. "I know." I hesitated, wondering if I should tell Alice the rest of my troubles. "Alice, look, there's something else I need to tell you." I said in a low voice, taking her small hand in mine and squeezing. "You can't breathe a word of this to anyone, okay? Edward, Emmet, Jasper…_no one_." I said firmly, and Alice raised her eyebrows at me, obviously interested.

"Um, okay...I promise. Now spill the beans." She said, turning her body so that she was fully facing me.

"I've been trying to get pregnant for over a year." I blurted out, not even hesitated anymore. Alice stared at me for a moment, her hazel eyes bugging out slightly. She waved her hand, gesturing for me to continue. "Edward and I, we want a baby. But I can't get pregnant, Alice." I whispered, tears flooding to my eyes.

"Oh, honey…" Alice immediately became sympathetic, reaching out and rubbing my shoulder gently. "It could still happen, you know that, right? Sometimes these things just take time."

I smiled sadly at her and shrugged. "I know. But I feel like such a failure for not being able to get pregnant. We've been trying so hard, and I thought for sure it would have happened. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, and we're going to try and find out what's going on." I paused for a moment, wiping my eyes. "What if it's me, Alice? What if I can't have children?"

"It won't be the end of the world, Bella. There are other options." Alice said sweetly.

"But I want my own baby. I want it to have my eyes and Edward's hair and I want it to be _ours_." I whispered pathetically, breaking down in tears.

Alice was trying to comfort me when I heard the door to the apartment open again. I tried to turn my head and dry my tears, but Edward was at my side in an instant. He grabbed my chin and forced me to face him.

"What's wrong?" He asked urgently, glaring at Alice. She rolled her eyes at him, rubbed my knee one more time, and then left the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

"It's nothing." I tried to lie, but Edward obviously didn't by it. He sat down in Alice's abandoned seat, still holding my face in his hands. He silently wiped the tears from my face, looking at me sadly. "I'm scared." I finally admitted, and Edward furrowed his eyebrows at me.

I don't think he understood what I had been going through while I was trying to get pregnant. The pressure- emotional, mental, and even physical, was weighing down on me, and I was trying so damn hard…every negative test felt like a punch to my stomach.

"Of what?" Edward asked uncertainly, and I just shook my head and burst into tears again, feeling like this was _my_ burden to bear, even though it was really one that Edward and I were sharing.

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**Hmm…what do you think? I've been really good with updating my stories this weekend, too! I'm very proud of myself…I think I will be updating 'Letting Go' and 'Secret' later today. Please review, my dears!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	10. Chapter 10

**Bed rest sucks something serious.**

**On the plus side, I just finished my story 'Letting Go', which was the sequel to 'My Love, My Life'. If you have the time, it would be much appreciated if you could check both of those stories out! I've also started a new story called 'Alone', and it is definitely not your average E/B story. It's very sad, but I am really enjoying writing the story.**

**This chapter will be a tad short…I apologize in advance.**

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BPOV

"God dammit, that was fucked up." Edward muttered under his breath as we left the hospital together and we got into the car. "I had to do it in a cup. A fucking cup!" He spat, sounding disgusted.

I rolled my eyes, resting my head against the window of the car. "Yeah, and I basically got probed." I said bitterly, crossing my arms across my chest. We had both gone into the doctor today to check if we were both able to have children. Although Edward made been the one to volunteer to come with me, he had been complaining the entire time. "Look, I get that it was awkward, but it was necessary, okay? We need to know what…what's stopping us from starting our family."

Edward was eerily quiet for a moment, and then inhaled loudly through his nose. "I know. I'm sorry." He said in a low, gravelly voice, looking at me from the corner of his eye.

"It's fine. It's…it's no big deal" I said quietly, rubbing my forehead. We were both silent on the remainder of the trip home, but I just didn't have the energy or motivation to talk. I had been up late all night worrying about the results of the tests we had taken this morning. Edward had been a little gruff but supportive. I was thankful for that, especially since I was so worried about this whole thing.

We got back to the building and went up the back stairs so that we didn't have to go through the shop and get pestered by Alice or maybe even Jasper and Emmet. Alice knew why we were going to the hospital this morning, but no one else did, and we definitely wanted to keep it that way. It was a little embarrassing, and it was also none of their business. This was between Edward and I right now.

As soon as I got into our apartment, I plopped down on the couch and curled into the fetal position, tears immediately flooding to my eyes. What would I do if the tests came back and said that there was something wrong with me- keeping me from having the baby that Edward and I wanted. Edward sat down next to me on the couch, putting his arms around me and looking down at me with concern. "Baby, why won't you tell me what's wrong?" He asked in a soft voice. "You said last night that you were scared of something. Why are you scared?" I hesitated for a moment, trying to talk myself into telling him what was really wrong.

"I'm scared because I think that if I can't have children, you'll leave me. I'm scared because I don't want anyone else to have your heart, I don't want anybody else to kiss your lips, I don't want anyone else to be in your arms, and I don't want anybody to be the one you love." I blurted out, rambling and tears to stop from crying. "I'm scared because I don't want anyone to take my place." The floodgates were open now, and I couldn't stop things from just falling apart.

Edward kissed me softly, his hands cupping my cheeks as he used the pads of his thumbs to wipe away the tears that were falling down my cheeks. "I'm not going anywhere." He whispered. "I know that I act like an ass most of the time and I don't say this enough…but I love you, B. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I'm not going to leave you."

I nodded, kissing him again. I gently pushed him back onto the couch and moved on top of him. Right as I started kissing him more, Edward groaned loudly and arched his back, hissing through his teeth in pain. "What's wrong?" I asked, sliding off of him.

"Goddamn tattoo chaffed against my shirt." He groaned, and then I glanced at the clock.

"Sorry about that." I murmured. "But you have to go downstairs and earn a living. I'll be right here when you're down." He sighed and kissed my nose before rolling off the couch, grabbing a water bottle from the kitchen, and heading downstairs.

Just before the door closed behind Edward, I heard him call, "I love you, B!"

There's a saying that I heard recently- Don't go and find love, let love find you. That's why it's called _falling in love_, because you don't force yourself to fall…you just do.

And it's so true. I hadn't been looking for love when I had met Edward, and our relationship had become the best thing in the world. I sometimes had some very stupid and silly doubts, but Edward always came through for me. When we fought or disagreed about something and I was upset, Edward would do whatever it took to make me feel better- even if it made things harder for him. He made me feel smart and perfect and beautiful with even just a simple touch or look. But lately, things have been getting harder and harder between us. The pressure of trying to start our family has been getting to both of us. It's been putting a lot of stress on us, but I know that we are going to be able to work through all of these problems.

I can't wait for the doctor to call us back with the results. I needed to know what was stopping us from having what we wanted so badly. It was like some kind of sick obsession for me. I _had _to find out.

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**Sorry for the little delay in updating, but please review!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	11. Chapter 11

**Again, a short chapter, which I apologize for. There is an explanation down at the bottom. **

**I finally finished my story, 'Family Affair' yesterday, and I'm still working on 'In Search of Euphoria', 'Alone', and the editing of 'Without You'. I also wanted to let you all know that I will be deleting two of my stories; 'Protecting Us' and 'Secret'. They will be reposted soon, don't worry!**

**So…are you watching the Superbowl like I am? And are you rooting for the Saints or the Colts? I'm a big Colts fan myself, just like all of my family members, my husband, and the majority of my friends.**

**I hope you enjoy this short chapter and please make sure that you review!**

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BPOV, 2 Months Later:

One and a half months ago, after Edward and I had fertility tests done, the doctor called and said that he had no idea why it had taken us so long, but when I had been examined to test for fertility, I had already been about two weeks pregnant. The home test I had taken was a false negative, apparently. Edward and I had been worried about my drinking during that time, but the doctor assured me that all was well, considering the only time I had drank a lot was when Edward and I were in Las Vegas.

So here I was, pregnant and blissful. We haven't told anyone else that we're married, but they do know that we're having a baby. Edward has been amazing, more attentive and caring than he has ever been. It's so amazingly wonderful, and it seems to be happening so fast.

"Look what Alice got for baby." Edward came into the apartment, holding up a stuffed otter. I laughed and held my arms out for it, and caught it when Edward tossed it to me.

"It's adorable!" I said happily, giving it a big squeeze before setting it down on the couch next to me and gesturing for Edward to sit down as well. He did, and slung his arm around my shoulder. He planted a big kiss on my tummy and then kissed me on the lips.

With a flourish, he held out another stuffed animal- this one was a turtle, my favorite animal. "And this one is from me." He said proudly, handing it to me as well. "I picked it out all by myself, too."

"I love it, thank you." I said, giving him another kiss and setting it on my stomach. I obviously wasn't showing yet, but I couldn't wait until I was. I had waited for so long for this to happen, and now that it finally had, I was eager for things to start happening. We had one extra bedroom in the apartment, so that would be the nursery. It was a little too early to be decorating and whatnot, but Alice had already volunteered her services to help. And Rosalie, the woman Emmet had been seeing these past two months, works at a furniture store and is willing to give us a discount.

Things are finally working out for us.

"Oh, and how have you been feeling today?" Edward asked, one of his large hands resting gently on my stomach.

"Fine." I said, nuzzling my head into his chest and kissing one of the various tattoos on his neck. "I had a little morning sickness, but it's all good now." I yawned, putting my hand on top of Edward's. "How's it going downstairs?" I asked curiously.

I used to be down in the shop helping out most days, but I haven't been lately. I've been sleeping in a lot later for some reason, and I've been a lot more tired than normal. Other than that, I've been trying to get the apartment all cleaned up and reorganized.

"It's good. But do you have some time to come down this afternoon? We're all booked up and we need you to handle the desk for us. Is that okay?"

"Sure." I said easily, shrugging my shoulders. "Let's get some lunch and then head back down."

----

Edward hadn't been lying when he said that they were all booked up this afternoon. None of us got a moment of peace the entire afternoon, not even me working at the desk. Edward and a short, scrawny man emerged from the back, and Edward directed the man towards me so that he could pay. Edward walked over as well and loomed behind me as the man paid and got some ointment and wrappings, and as soon as the man left, Edward kissed me squarely on the lips, his tongue sneaking out to swipe across my lower lip.

"Whoa." I managed to say as Edward eventually pulled away from me, a big, crooked grin on his face. "What was that for, mister?" I asked, laughing as Edward put his hands on my waist.

"I love you, B." He said simply, kissing the top of my head.

I smiled up at him and ran one of my hands through his tousled bronze hair. "I love you too." I murmured, and then he reluctantly moved away from me as a customer approached the front desk.

God, I was so happy that things were working out, and that they were better than ever.

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**Again, I'm sorry to make this short, but I'm watching the superbowl and this is just a filler chapter. There's a big twist coming up next chapter, so be prepared.**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	12. Chapter 12

**I got this chapter out so fast! **

**But I need to warn you that this chapter has a big twist, and it is also a very sad one. Please, understand that this is all essential to the story.**

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BPOV

I woke up in the middle of the night, disoriented and in pain. I sat up in bed, clutching at my stomach and squeezing my eyes shut. What in the world was going on? I had the worst stomach pains I had ever experienced. Breathing heavily, I carefully got out of bed, moving slowly in my pain-filled state. I must have woken Edward up, because he sat up suddenly, running his hands through his hair and rubbing his eyes. "B? What's going on?" He asked, just as I cried out in pain and nearly slumped to the floor.

Edward was at my side in an instant, and kept me from falling. "I don't know!" I cried, gritting my teeth. I stumbled again, and Edward froze.

"Isabella." He suddenly said, and I was immediately thrust into panic when he spoke my full name. "Baby…" He trailed off for a moment, his eyes full of sorrow. "You're bleeding." He said in a whisper, and I collapsed into tears, kicking off my pants to see for myself.

Sure enough, I was bleeding. A lot. There was no point in even trying to stop it, since it had gotten this far.

"We need to get you to the hospital." Edward said, and I shook my head, clinging to him as he pulled me into the hallway.

"It's gone." I choked now. "There's nothing…nothing that can be done. I lost it." I cried, and Edward started to say something, but I interrupted him. "No, please…just hold me." I whispered through my tears, and then slid down against the wall, pulling Edward down with me.

Neither of us spoke. Edward just let me cry and held me against his bare chest, whispering in my ear and kissing my hair gently.

Sometime in the night, I can't say when, Edward had taken me into the bathroom and cleaned me up, but I hadn't stopped crying the entire time. We had sat down on the floor, leaning against the counters. He continued to hold me, and I continued to sob uncontrollably. At some point, Edward had been on the phone with Carlisle, but that was all that I could remember from that point on. I had eventually fallen asleep, crying as I did so.

How could this have happened so fast? Things were fine mere hours ago, and now…it was all over. I had lost my baby, only months after discovering its existence. How could I have been so in love with a little person that I had yet to meet? I felt as if…as if everything I knew was being torn apart right before my eyes.

-----

"Edward? Edward. Are you in here? We need you downstairs! Ugh…you two better not be having sex!" Edward and I had been awake for over an hour before we heard Alice come into the apartment, looking for Edward, who was obviously late for work. There was a knock on the bathroom door, and I figured that she would just keep looking, so I called out to her.

"We're in here. You can come in." I said in a raspy, rough voice, and Alice walked right into the bathroom without any hesitation. She froze when she saw us, though.

We obviously looked awful, slumped down on the floor, Edward wearing sweatpants and nothing else, and me wearing rumpled sweats. My stained paints were balled up on the floor next to us, and both our faces were red and tear streaked. "What happened?" Alice asked after a moment, her eyes wide with shock.

I just shook my head, collapsing into tears yet again and clinging to Edward.

"Alice, will you please go get some Bella some water to drink?" Edward asked her, not answering her question. She nodded and hurried out of the room, her eyes still wide.

"I…I…the baby…" I started to stutter, but Edward shushed me gently.

"B, it's all going to be fine." Edward murmured, but I shook my head, continuing to cry into his shoulder, my body shaking uncontrollably. "I love you, Bella. Things will be fine. We can still have a baby, we just have to try again." He was speaking quickly, and I knew that he was trying to convince himself as well as me. "We'll go to the doctor and do what needs to be done and then we can just keep trying." He murmured in my ear, and I nodded, trying not to cry anymore.

Alice came back into the room, silently offering me a glass of ice water before sinking down on the floor next to us and taking my free hand. "What happened?" She asked urgently, glancing from Edward to I.

"The baby." Was all I said, and Alice's jaw dropped and tears flooded her eyes. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, squeezing my hand. "Why haven't you gone to the doctor?" She asked, and I shrugged my shoulders.

"It was too late." I whispered. "Edward called Carlisle- he even said that it was too late. It…was already gone when I realized what was happening." I muffled another sob by burying my face into Edward's smooth chest. He ran his hand through my hair, and Alice remained silent for a little while longer before saying something to Edward that I didn't hear and leaving.

I honestly couldn't bring myself to care anymore.

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The next day, I was still in a daze. We had gone to the doctor, but there was no real explanation for the loss of our helpless little baby. It was just gone without any reason, and that's the thing that I didn't understand.

Edward came home with another fresh tattoo that night- a small trail of baby footprints on his side, trailing along his ribcage from under his arm to his waist. Although I was still shocked and horrified, I had begged Edward to tattoo a remembrance on my body as well. So he had agreed, and another tattoo now graced my body.

It was right above my pelvic bone, a small angel with the words 'My Baby Forever' inked below the creature. I had cried the entire time as Edward inked my body. He kept apologizing- he thought that the tattoo was attributing to my pain. But I couldn't even feel the needle baring down into my skin.

This pain; it was all in my heart, bottled up and threatening to burst free.

**-----**

**I know this is extremely sad and unfortunate, but it has been planned since the first few chapters of the story. But I will assure you right now that Edward and Bella will not break up. This is an E/B story, and they will remain together through it all.**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	13. Chapter 13

**This chapter is going to be in EPOV for you guys! I was lucky I was able to update at all tonight- I didn't get home until after eight and then I had a quick dinner. **

**Some of you asked- so I will tell you that everything in my own pregnancy is going well. I'm due with a baby girl on May 26, 2010.**

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EPOV

I hated to see Bella in so much pain. The hurt in her eyes was obvious, and it was killing me. Losing a baby was hurting both of us terribly. I knew that Bella was blaming herself, but I couldn't help but put some of the blame on myself. I was supposed to be able to protect my wife and child and keep them safe; I felt like I had failed them because of this.

Possibly one of the hardest things about this was that we had no idea why it had happened. No doctor could explain it to us, either. One of them even had the balls to say 'these things can happen', which had made Bella burst into tears yet again. 'These things can happen' was _not _what we needed to here. We needed an explanation as to why we had lost our baby. Our helpless, tiny little baby…just gone without any kind of reason.

Bella and I hadn't wanted to get married, but it somehow seemed to work out once we did. And as it turned out, I actually liked being able to call Bella my wife. I liked being the one responsible for her, and I liked seeing her wearing that gold wedding band that I hated at first. I also liked seeing her happy. And suddenly, that had all been ripped away from us. We had wanted this baby for a goddamn year, probably more. How could this be fair? Other people got abortions, other people abused their children, and still more didn't even want their children. We _wanted_ this. We needed this.

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I walked into the apartment, running my hands through my hair and sighing with exhaustion. "Bella?" I called, looking around the apartment. The door to the nursery was closed, but I could see that the light was on. I sighed again, chewing lightly on my lower lip. Bella had been locking herself in the nursery every day for hours on end, and she would never allow me to come in. I could hear her crying in there, but there wasn't a single thing that I could do to make her stop hurting or even ease the pain. But I was getting into that room today. I had to. "Bella, can I come in?" I asked softly, knocking gently on the door to what would have been the nursery.

"No." Bella sobbed, and I winced at the sound of anguish in her voice. "Leave me alone.

"Bella, come on. Please let me." I begged, but she continued to cry. I bent down and examined the lock on the door, and then hurried into the bathroom and started rifling through a few of the drawers. Eventually, I managed to find what I was looking for. Padding back to the nursery, I managed to undo the lock with the hairpin of Bella's that I had found in the bathroom.

I walked into the room and found Bella sitting in the rocking chair with her legs crossed and her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her face was red and swollen and her eyes were full of unshed tears. "Get _out_." She sobbed, bringing her knees up to her chest and hiding her face.

"No." I said softly, walking over to her and sinking to my knees, resting my hands on her bare feet and squeezing gently. "Bella, please talk to me. I miss you."

She sniffled loudly, wiping her face and her eyes. "I…I'm _sorry._" Bella cried, her shoulders shaking as she slid off of the rocking chair and into my arms. I squeezed her tightly and buried my face into her shoulder, inhaling her warm, familiar scent that I loved so much.

"Shh…B, it's going to be fine." I murmured, kissing her jaw gently. "We did it once, we can do it again." I whispered, and she started crying even harder, which I hadn't thought was possible.

"What if we can't?" She asked, and I stiffened slightly. "Can we do this?"

I kissed her cheek softly, stroking her back as I continued to hold her. "Do you know that I love you? I know I've said it a million times, but I'm going to keep saying it. There are no lies in those words, not a single one." I spoke softly, trying to calm her down. "Your smile keeps me alive, and gives me one more reason to keep fighting. I would give you my soul for comfort, even if it leaves me dark and cold. And when I hold you close, I can feel your heart beating so fast…" Her heart thumped loudly against my chest, proving my point and making me smile. "And I know that I've found that _special someone _at last."

Bella managed a smile, fisting her fingers in my hair and wiping her years on my shirt. "Thank you. I love you so much." She said, one more tear slipping down her cheek. I kissed it away, and she exhaled loudly, pressing her face into my shoulder. "Do you really think we'll be able to do it again?" She asked softly after several moments of silence.

"I do." I whispered, and she was silent again. "Our baby is going to be so beautiful, Bella."

"It would have been." Bella said softly, and I cringed at how I had phrased my words. "It's okay." She whispered. "I know what you mean."

And we remained silent for hours, falling asleep on the floor of the nursery.

**-----**

**Sorry that was short, but I need to get to bed now. I'm so tired today!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	14. Chapter 14

**I hope you all had a very happy Valentine's Day! **

**I have a new story out, by the way. It's based on Taylor Swift songs, but it's **_**not**_** a song fic. Chapter one is 'Tell Me Why', chapter two is 'White Horse', chapter three is 'I'd Lie', and chapter four is 'Fifteen'. Those are all the chapters that are up, but the next chapter, which will be up either tonight or tomorrow, is going to be 'Untouchable'.**

**So if you have the time, please go check that story out for me!**

**Oh, and this chapter goes out to ****LILYLUVTWILIGHT****. She's the reason this chapter is going up tonight.**

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BPOV

Sometimes, women who have a miscarriage sit alone in their rooms, unable to face the light of day and the prospect that life actually will go on. Sometimes, they blame themselves for the loss of their child. And sometimes, they would close themselves off from the light of the world. And I was doing all of those things. My life had come to a standstill, and I did not want to see other people happy and healthy and living their lives when I had experienced such a painful loss.

So I hadn't left the apartment since a doctors appointment I had gone to two days after the miscarriage. Edward had gone down to the shop every day, but he never stayed after to talk with his brothers and Alice like he used to do. Every single night, he was back in the apartment at five o'clock. And every night, he would find me in the nursery, crying my heart out. He would stay with me for a while, and then insist that I get something to eat. Usually he would make me something, I would take a shower, and then I would get into bed.

It's been a month since the miscarriage.

It's been a month since we've had sex.

It's been a month since our life was broken into a million little pieces.

This was so unfair. I hadn't even been given a chance to be a mother before my child was ripped away from me. I hadn't gotten the chance to hold my baby, name it, or even know what he or she would look like. I don't think anybody, save for Edward, understood how hard this was. A few days after my miscarriage, Alice and Jasper had come over for breakfast and to express their condolences, but they just didn't realize that I was still in pain. They seemed to think that now that it was over and done with, I should be getting over it.

But it wasn't like that.

I was never going to forget. I was going to carry this with me forever, no matter what. I was a broken woman, and I had no idea how I could be put back together. I was trying to take care of myself, for Edward, but it was getting harder and harder. I was supposed to be a mother, I knew I was. Some of the choices I have made in life were questionable, but I'm not a bad person and neither is Edward.

Why is life so unfair?

"Bella?" Edward's voice drifted through the apartment, but I didn't move except to glance at the clock in the nursery. I was yellow and had stars on the face. I wondered briefly if our child would have liked the nursery, but my thoughts were cut short when Edward walked into the nursery.

Ever since the miscarriage, I know that Edward hasn't been sleeping much. There were bags under his eyes and he walked with his shoulders slightly hunched. Seeing the physical effect the whole situation had on him, I wondered how terrible I must look right now. "What's up?" I asked, clearing my throat and wiping away the tears that had dried on my cheeks.

"We're going out." Edward said, holding his hand out to me. I stared at him dumbly, my mouth dropping open. He thought I would want to go out? For God's sake, I haven't left the apartment in a month, what made him think that I wanted to change that right now?

"Edward, I really don't feel like going out." I said weakly. "Please, just leave me alone." I said, but Edward ignored me. He gripped me from under my arms and yanked me up out of the chair, setting me upright on my feet. "Stop." I groaned, trying to sit back down.

He held me tightly, not letting me go. "You need to get out of the house, Bella. And so do I. It's not healthy for us to do this, to just sit around the house and rot. Go get dressed, something nice, and we'll go." He said firmly, obviously not willing to take no for an answer. I wanted to start protesting again, but Edward cupped my chin in his hand and forced me to look him in the eye. "We need this." He murmured, and I decided that it would just be easier to relent.

We walked into the bedroom together and got dressed in silence. I put on a simple black dress and a pair of heels, and Edward smiled at me as he buttoned up his gray shirt. "You look beautiful." He said, and I looked in the mirror. I didn't look as bad as I thought I would. My eyes were tired and rimmed in red, but that could be fixed with a little mascara. My lips were terribly chapped, but that could be fixed as well with a little chapstick. The things that couldn't be helped were the worst. My collarbones, ribs, and hip bones stuck out awkwardly, and my neck looked scrawny and weak. But I couldn't even bring myself to care.

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**Sorry for a short chapter, but I might be able to update again tonight. No promises on the timeline, but the next chapter will definitely feature their date night.**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	15. Chapter 15

**I was planning to update this last night, but things piled up and I ended up not having enough time to do so. So…have any of you guys seen the new Eclipse pictures? Man, they are **_**hot**_**! I can't wait until I get to see the movie, it's my favorite of the books.**

**But I want to warn you in advance that this is a very hard time for both Edward and Bella. Things are going to be a little tense, okay?"**

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BPOV

I set my mouth in a hard line as we walked down the street, and Edward noticed and stiffened slightly. "Can we please try and relax? I think…that we need this." He said softly, and I sighed, taking a deep breath. He put his arm back around my waist then, and frowned. "Bella, you need to eat more; I can feel all of your bones sticking out." Edward murmured. "Please. I can't stand to see you wasting away like this."

"I know." I said softly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." He said sharply, and then we continued to walk in silence. We got to the restaurant and Edward held the door for me. Even in my terrible, sad mood, I could appreciate the way the muscles in his arms flexed when he held the door, making his tattoo's look like they were dancing. But then he rolled the sleeve of his shirt back down, like he always did at nice restaurants, and my little moment of happiness was gone.

Our dinner was awkward and tense, which I had never really experienced with Edward. Our relationship had always been so fluid and full of life, even at the beginning. Eventually, our conversation steered towards the 'baby thing', as I knew it would. It was a painful topic, but it was also one that we could not ignore. It had happened, and we had to live with it now.

"The doctor called earlier." I said after even more awkward silence. Edward glanced up at me, raising his eyebrows. "He said that there shouldn't be any reason that we can't…um, that we can't do it again. He said that it might take a little while to get pregnant again, but it can still happen." I said in a soft voice. Edward nodded, and I drew in a shaky breath. "He also suggested a support group that we could go to. He said that…he said sometimes it can take years and years to get over something like this. But since we're going to keep trying, I want to put this behind us. I never want to forget our baby, but I…I just wish I could take my mind off of it sometimes."

Edward nodded again, oddly silent. "Bella…do you really think we should try for another baby?" He asked softly, and I froze, my mouth dropping open.

How could he even say something like that?

"Of course I do!" I spat, dropping my fork. "I want to have a baby, Edward. And so do you. I know you do…you've said it a million times…you can't just change your mind because of this!" I was angry now, talking fast and not really caring who heard me. "I don't care." I hissed when he tried to say something else. "I'm having a baby, Edward. I would prefer it to be with you, my goddamn husband, but if you're not going to give it to me, I swear to God that I'll find it somewhere else."

I didn't care if I was being too loud or too blunt or too rude. Because he was giving me a baby, dammit. We had worked so hard and suffered so much, and here he was, asking me if we should even try again.

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose and looked around, his eyes dark. "Look, Bella, can we please wait to talk about this until we get home?" He asked softly. "It's not what you think, okay? We just…we really need to talk this all over." He murmured, and I stared at him for a long moment, my tears welling up with tears, and then returned to eating my food without saying another word.

I picked at my food for the rest of our mostly silent meal, not really eating anything. The little appetite I had was now gone, and I was feeling too angry and upset to even try and eat more, let alone talk to Edward.

-----

The moment the door to the apartment closed, I rounded on Edward, hitting his arms with my palms and sobbing, too angry and desperate to speak. Edward remained motionless and silent, letting me hit him weakly. Eventually he brought his hands up and grasped at my wrists, stopping me. "Bella." He whispered, pulling me against his chest and softly kissing my forehead. "I want nothing more than to have a baby with you. But I can stop thinking that this could happen again…and I wouldn't be able to take it." He said softly, and suddenly all of the strong walls that he had built around the two of us came tumbling down.

He was scared. I was scared. There was a lot to be scared of.

"We can't let this things hurt us." I cried, sobbing into his chest as he continued to hold me. "We just can't. I don't want to lose you, Edward. I _won't_. And if we keep doing this to ourselves, we aren't going to be able to get over it." I said, and then grabbed his face in my hands. "We can do this. The doctor said that we can. So I'm going to ask you this one more time. Do you _want_ to have a baby with me?"

Edward nodded wordlessly, his eyes teary and red. He kissed me softly on the lips and then whispered in my ear. "Of course I do. I love you so much."

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**Again, I'm sorry for a pretty short chapter, but I have to make dinner and then I have a project to work on! **

**Please review and tell me what you thought.**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	16. Chapter 16

**I've got a new story out…'Commander in Chief'. It's got two chapters up and is on my profile. Go and check it out if you have the time to do so!**

**New story I'm reading right now…'Passing By' by deltaswan90. It's a really good and interesting story, if you want something else to read. I'm going to try and update this story again this week, but I can give no promises. Oh, and by the way…my story 'Best' was updated tonight. It has ten stories done and has ten to go!**

**I'm really sorry for giving you guys short chapters…but at least I have legitimate excuses. Tonight, it's because I have a big ass headache and can't stare at the computer screen for any longer. Oh, and by the way…I've only got three months to go…hallelujah .**

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BPOV

I hadn't wanted Esme and Carlisle to come. I had told them not to. Edward had told them not to. Hell, even Jasper and Emmet had told them not to. As obnoxious as those two could be, they really did care, and they were trying to protect us. But Esme and Carlisle, well mostly Esme, had insisted on coming anyways. The two of them still didn't know that Edward and I had gotten married, but we had told them I was pregnant, and then we had called and had to tell them that we had lost the baby.

And Esme…I loved Esme like she was my own mother, but I really couldn't deal with her anymore. It had been a month since my miscarriage, and I can still hardly get myself out of bed in the morning. Edward and I started going to a group therapy thing together, but I don't feel like that's helping. I don't want to hear about other woman losing their babies like I had…I didn't want to think about anyone else going through this horrible pain.

"Are you ready?" I hadn't noticed Edward appear in the doorway, wearing a sweatshirt to conceal his tattoos. The car keys were in his hand, and his eyes were dark and tired.

"Yeah." I said softly, putting my hair up in a ponytail and dabbing on some lip gloss. I looked just as ragged as Edward did, but I didn't care. We were just going to pick Carlisle and Esme up at the airport- we weren't going to dinner or anything like that.

Our car ride was mostly silent, but Edward's warm hand encasing mine was more than enough to comfort me and make me feel complete. By the time we made it through traffic, we were about ten minutes late. Still holding hands, we walked into the airport together towards the baggage claim, where we were supposed to meet Esme and Carlisle. Not two seconds later, Esme had her arms around me, hugging me tightly as Carlisle stood back and just smiled us.

"Oh, dear…" Esme said softly, looking me up and down. "You're skin and bones…"

"She's fine." Edward said in a low voice. Esme looked at him disapprovingly, but just gave him a hug and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his forehead. We exchanged pleasantries with Carlisle as well, and he quietly and discreetly told me that he was sorry for his loss.

That was the way I liked it. I didn't want a big fuss, I didn't want anyone making a big deal. I appreciated the kind words and thoughts, but this wasn't something I wanted people to make a big deal over…Edward and I were having a hard enough time with things as it was.

Esme filled in the silence on the car ride back to the apartment, chatting on and on about frivolous things. I didn't mind so much…at least she wasn't talking about the baby or about Edward and I's haggard appearances.

Although Esme and Carlisle typically stayed in a hotel when they visited, this time they would be camping out on our living room couch. I'm not really sure why, but I really don't mind. At least the presence of my mother in law and her boyfriend will give me something else to focus on. And I wouldn't be able to go into the nursery and cry every day, either. Maybe this was the reason Edward and had incited them to stay in our apartment. It was actually a good idea, and I wish I had thought of it before.

-----

"How have you been holding up?" Esme asked me as we prepared dinner that night. She was looking at me knowingly, but I focused on the vegetables I was supposed to be chopping.

"I'm fine." I murmured.

Esme sighed loudly and grabbed my wrist gently, stopping me from chopping me anymore. "Bella, I really don't need to pry. But you've been with Edward for so long now…I really do see you as a daughter in law. Well, I see you as a daughter, really…"

"Well, you got that wish at least." I snapped, and I didn't even realize what I was saying. After all this secrecy, I had just blabbed my biggest secret to the one person I was really trying to hide it from.

Her mouth dropped open and she raised her eyebrows, flabbergasted. "Bella…oh my…are you telling me that you and Edward are engaged?" She asked me, finally dropping my wrist so that I could continue chopping. I remained silent for a little while longer, but then found the courage to speak.

"We got married four months ago."

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**Ah! Short. But I'm about to gouge my eyes out…so goodnight and I will try and update again sometime this week.**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	17. Chapter 17

**I don't know where all my time has gone. It seems like I updated like earlier today, but it's really been a few days. I also wanted to give all of you a shout out to all of you, because this story now has over 300 reviews. Seriously, you are all amazing. I read all of your reviews, and I'm sorry that I can't review to more of them. I try, though. If you have a important question, PM me instead, I'm more likely to respond within a few hours. **

**Not sure how long I will be able to make this chapter, because I'm going to bed as soon as possible. I'm so tired! But I should be able to do a lot of updating this weekend.**

**But please review! I love all your feedback and comments- they mean a lot.**

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BPOV

Esme stared at me, her eyes wide as saucers as her jaw dropped slightly. "You…you got married? Why…why didn't you _tell _me? I would have come, I could have been there. Why did you and Edward feel the need to keep this experience from me? I'm his _mother_, Bella! I know that he may have some skewed views of me, but why would you ever let him do this without even telling me?" She asked angrily, and I gripped my hands on the edge of the countertop.

"It wasn't a planned out thing. Esme, I thought that you knew that I think of you like a mother. I would _never_ hurt you purposely, and I'm offended that you think Edward and I would want to. We got married in Las Vegas because we were drunk. It wasn't planned. We didn't _want_ to get married. I love your son, more than I have ever loved another person. I want to give him everything, Esme. He does so much for me, so much more than he needs to, so I respected his wishes to keep this whole thing quiet."

I took a deep breath, but continued on my rant. "I know you don't understand this, but I owe your son _everything_. We were planning on telling you, but then the baby…" I swallowed heavily and trailed off, and then started chopping vegetables again.

There was a long pause, and when Esme spoke again, she was much more reserved. "I'm sorry. I know that you're an amazing girl, Bella, but I've waited for five years for the two of you to get married, so I guess I was just hurt when I thought you didn't _want_ to include me." Esme sighed, and wiped her eyes. "I also know that you love Edward. It's very obvious how the two of you feel about each other, and it's so beautiful- your love is so tangible." I continued to look down, blushing still, and shrugged my shoulders.

Although I would never deny how much I loved Edward and didn't have any problems letting him know, it made me uncomfortable when other people talked about our relationship. I knew that Edward and I could never keep our hands off each other, but still…I didn't like hearing about my relationship from other people, because I preferred to keep things between Edward and I. This was _our_ business, it was our relationship. I knew that Emmet and Jasper and Ed and Esme were my family now, but that didn't mean I was going to tell them everything. Edward is the one I will always confide, and just because we were married know didn't mean that would change in any way, and I wasn't going to confide in other people.

I had never had many friends in life, and now I had everything I could never need in Edward, but I also had Emmet, Jasper, Alice, and even Esme. I had to trust that they actually wanted the best for me.

I had to _trust _them. There had never been a lot of people I could trust in my life. And now that I had all these people to lean on, it was quickly becoming overwhelming. People were offering their love and their condolences, and I didn't know how to accept it. I had been so thrilled to have finally conceived a baby with the husband that I loved, but I didn't want to accept that soon after, I had lost it all.

In the group therapy, we learned that talking about miscarriage and trying to accept it was usually the best way to do it. But how was I supposed to come to terms with all these things that life was hurling at me? This was causing Edward and I to drift apart, it was causing us pain, it was causing us anguish and torment and agony and suffering.

This isn't the way things are supposed to happen. Edward and I were supposed to get pregnant, go through nine months, forty weeks, three trimesters- and then we were supposed to have this beautiful little baby that would be all ours. Ours to love and to raise and to parent. We were supposed to be given the chance to succeed and to fail.

We were supposed to at least have a chance.

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Now that the whole secret was out, I had to admit that I was able to breathe a little easier. I hadn't even realized how much of a burden it was- trying to keep the secret- until it was finally off of my chest. Edward hadn't seemed to really care that his mother knew – after all, it seemed that everybody else on the face of earth knew already- he had just been surprised that I had let the whole thing slip when I had been so adamant about keeping the wedding and the marriage under wraps.

What we needed was to better understand each other. I didn't know exactly what he was feeling, and vice versa. But I didn't know how to say it. I needed to, but I just didn't have any idea where to start. So much of our lives had been focused on having a baby, and things were suddenly off their axis.

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**Ugh, a bit short. Sorry guys, but baby and I want to get some sleep, seeing as we have to get up early tomorrow morning so that I can get into work a little earlier than usual.**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	18. Chapter 18

**This is going to be a pretty emotional chapter, I'm just going to warn you ahead of time.**

**Thanks for reviewing and please continue to do so! **

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BPOV

Dinner was almost painfully silent. Esme seemed slightly troubled by the secret I had spilled, but she said nothing else about it. I had, however, whispered in Edward's ear and told him that his mother knew our little secret. He had hardly reacted; just nodded his head and kissed the tip of my nose. Carlisle looked suspiciously between the three of us, noticing that some dynamic had just been changed between us.

However, all I could think about during dinner and as I cleared the table was how Carlisle knew how I felt. He, too, had lost a child. His circumstances were a little different, and I don't think I would be able to handle the way that he lost his family.

Only an hour after the death of his young wife, he had also lost their son. What in the world would that have even felt like? It must have been excruciatingly painful. Edward had told me the basics; there had been no complications in his wife's pregnancy, and they had come to the hospital expecting a routine delivery. How wrong they had been. The technology then had been nothing compared to what it was today, and the baby had been breach and the umbilical cord had been wrapped around his neck. Carlisle's wife, I didn't know her name, had bled out and their son had died not long after.

Carlisle had lost everything, totally out of the blue. He had expected to go home with his wife and their beautiful son, and instead he had to go home alone with the crushing weight of his wife and child's deaths on his shoulders.

So after dinner, when Edward took Esme down to the shop to visit with Emmet, Jasper, and Alice, I appeared in the doorway of the living room, waiting for Carlisle to notice me.

He looked up after a moment, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw me standing there. "Hello, Bella." He said easily. "What's up?" I walked into the living room and sat on the edge of the pull out couch, and Carlisle sat down next to me.

"I wanted to talk to you." I said quietly, wondering how I could bring this situation up…it must have been such a painful topic for him, even after almost thirty years. But Carlisle was looking at me knowingly, and rested his hand on my knee.

"I'm guessing you want to ask about what _I _went through?" He asked, and I nodded wordlessly, hoping that he would continue. Carlisle sighed and rubbed his forehead, and he suddenly looked ten years older as memories in his mind flooded to the surface. "My wife and I met on my first day of medical school. She was a nurse, and her name was Elizabeth. We didn't date for very long, but she ended up getting pregnant and we got married." His voice was low and serious, and I listened to him in rapt interest. "I loved her very much." Carlisle added very softly, looking down at his hands. "We were so excited for the baby…Elizabeth quit her job at the hospital and planned to spend her days with our baby while I was in class." He paused again, squeezing my knee tightly and closing his eyes. "She went into labor on June 3, 1982. It was a Thursday."

Sensing how much pain he was in, I leaned my head against his shoulder, encouraging him to continue. After taking another deep breath, he did. "The doctor didn't know something was wrong until he was born. It was all just a big blur…" Carlisle frowned, trying to remember the details that he had initially had tried to bury. "Our son wasn't crying, he made no noise at all, but Elizabeth insisted that he would be fine. She had, um, she had already started bleeding at that point and the doctors were trying to stop it, but they told us…that there probably wouldn't be a lot of time left. So Elizabeth named him, his name was Anthony. They didn't let either of us hold our son, they were trying to get him to breathe…and then Elizabeth started bleeding out." His voice cracked slightly and he shuddered

The pain on his face was very evident, but he continued the story. "She was hemorrhaging and then died of cardiac shock from loss of blood. The doctors had tried to revive her…but she had lost too much blood and there was really nothing that they could do. I felt so…helpless." Carlisle whispered. "I was a doctor, why couldn't I save her? But she was gone, and I felt like the world was collapsing all around me. She was everything I had ever known and loved, and I wanted to follow her in death because I knew nothing without her. No person in the world should have to live with the pain that I was feeling. It was too much. My wife was gone. All I had left was Anthony. He was small, almost too small, and he wasn't breathing. Again, they tried to save him, but to no avail. An hour later, he was gone too."

My heart broke for Carlisle. He had been so young and he had lost so much. I had lost my child, but I still had Edward, at least.

"I didn't know what I was going to do." His voice was a mere whisper now. "I threw myself into work and nothing really filled that void that Elizabeth and Anthony left."

"Until you found Esme." I murmured, and Carlisle nodded and finally opened his eyes.

"Yes, I found Esme." He said, a small smile gracing his lips now. "I had gone nearly thirty years never really _living_, never really taking in life. But when I met Esme a lot of things changed. I still love Elizabeth, she was the first woman I ever loved. But I love Esme as well…they're actually nothing alike, though. Two very different woman, and I am completely in love with both of them. But Elizabeth is a part of my past, as is Anthony. I'm never going to forget them, but Esme is my present and my future." Carlisle spoke carefully, with reverence. "I know that what you're going through must seem impossible, Bella. But you have Edward. I've only known the two of you for two years, but I also know that together, you are going to be able to make it through this."

"Sometimes I don't even want to get out of bed." I whispered, really ashamed. "I feel like such a failure."

Carlisle sighed and gave me a hug. "You're not a failure, Bella. Not even close, okay? Your doctor said that you'll be able to conceive another child eventually, just remember that. Esme and Edward and I are here for you, as are Jasper and Emmet and Alice. You're not alone in this."

His words were so assuring and they actually managed to make me feel a little better. "Thank you." I whispered, giving him another big hug and then wiping my tear filled eyes. "I'm going to bed…I'll see you in the morning."

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**Thanks for reading, guys! I love you all!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	19. Chapter 19

**Sweet chapter, with a very sweet, fluffy, nondescript lemon in it. I didn't make it graphic at all, I really wanted to make it more intimate and special. P.S. this story has over 330 reviews! Thanks, guys!**

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BPOV

That night as Edward and I lay in bed together, right before he fell asleep, I moved closer to him and snaked my arms around his body, resting my head on his upper chest. "Mmm." Edward sighed sleepily, putting his arms around me as well and kissing the back of my head. I waited for several more minutes, and then pressed a kiss to his bare chest, right above the tattoo of my name.

"I'm really glad I have you." I whispered, thankful for the cover of darkness that was hiding the blush that had spread across my cheek. "Because I know that I would never be able to get through this if you weren't here with me. Edward, you're making it possible for me to survive through this entire mess." I took a deep breath, and then put it all on the line. "I know that it hasn't been very long since we lost our baby, but I think that I'm ready to start trying again."

Edward was silent, and I worried that he had either fallen asleep, or that he was to angry with me to speak. Would he think it was too soon? Then, after several minutes of mind numbing torture, he spoke. His voice was calm and sure and unwavering, which made me feel stronger. "Okay." He murmured, his velvet voice penetrating the comforting darkness that surrounded us. "If you're ready, then I'm ready." I kissed him full on the lips, and Edward chuckled when we broke apart. "Are you ready right _now_?" he asked suggestively, and I responded by kissing him again, but much more passionately than before. "I'll take that as a yes." Edward said through his heavy breathing. I nodded my head, and everything was a little more complete.

He undressed me in the dark, planting soft kisses all over my body as he kicked off his boxers. He grabbed my hands and our fingers intertwined as he gently pushed into my body, making my back arch and my eyes role into the back of my head. This wasn't how it usually was. We were never this gentle, we never really took the time to explore each other's bodies and make slow, sweet love to each other. But that was exactly what we were doing.

We made love for hours, and I kept thinking about how much the two of us have changed over the past three or four months. Edward and I have both become so much softer, more tender, and more wrapped up in each other. As Edward continued to stroke and caress my bare skin, I shuddered every time I felt the cool metal of his wedding band slide across my warm body. Our lips met over and over again and we groaned and moaned into each other's mouths, completely relishing the feeling of being intimate again.

I loved the sight of him, the taste of him, the smell of him, the _feeling_ of him. Everything was so beautifully familiar, but it felt even better than it had before. After we were both satiated and exhausted, we collapsed back onto our bed, with our bodies still deliciously intertwined. "I love you." Edward whispered for the hundredth time that night, kissing my slightly sweaty hair.

"I love you too." I said softly, refusing to let him go. "You were right, Edward. I know that if we just believe, it can happen again." Edward nodded silently, and I continued. It was almost five thirty in the morning now, and we would have to wake up soon to start our day anyways. "I know that we'll be able to do it." I said confidently. "I had doubts before, but I know now that you and I are going to be parents- we're going to have a baby. Edward's hands snaked up and clasped around my flat, bare belly, and he gently kissed the junction between my neck and my shoulder. "We're going to be great parents, too." I added.

"The best." Edward said softly, his warm breath tickling my ear. We were quiet after that, kissing gently and holding onto to each other, knowing that morning would come soon and disrupt our precious time together. Sure enough, the alarm blared at six o'clock sharp, and I turned it off quickly so that it wouldn't wake Carlisle and Esme too early.

After pecking Edward on the lips, I pulled on some clothes and walked out of the room while Edward went into the bathroom to take a shower. As I tiptoed into the kitchen, I saw that Esme and Carlisle were already awake. They were standing in the kitchen together, embracing. Esme's head rested on Carlisle's shoulder, and both of their eyes were closed peacefully. Both Carlisle and Esme's noses were red and as were there eyes, so I knew that they must have been crying, probably because of what Carlisle and I had discussed last night. Not sure what to do, I backed out of the kitchen and hurried back into Edward and I's bedroom, diving under the covers again and waiting for Edward to get done in the shower.

I closed my eyes, only intending to rest for a little while, but ended up drifting off to sleep. I jolted awake when Edward walked back into the room, wet and clad in only his boxers. "Mmm…hi." I said softly, peeking out from under the covers and winking at him. Edward chuckled and walked over to my side as I watched several beads of water trail down his body and down the 'V' of his hips.

"Here." He said softly, holding his hand out to me. I outstretched my hand as well, and Edward dropped two aspirins into my palm. "I thought…maybe you'd be a little sore." He explained, and I nodded in thanks, down the pills dry. "I'm really glad to see you acting more like yourself." Edward added, bending down and kissing me softly on the lips before walking back into the bathroom. He came back out several moments later, completely dried off and wearing jeans and a tee shirt now. He hesitated for a moment, but then laid down on the bed next to me, stretching out comfortably. "Hey, B?" He asked softly.

"Yeah?" I asked, my eyes closed again.

Edward moved a little closer to me so that we were spooning, and ran his nose across my cheek. "Do you think there's a possibility we made a baby last night?" He asked, and my eyes flew open. I hadn't realized that I was currently ovulating, and hopefully that made our chances a little higher. When I spoke, my voice was just a husky whisper.

"I hope so."

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**What do you guys think? Please review!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	20. Chapter 20

**Planning to eat some Thai food while watching American Idol from last night before watching tonight's episode…oh, and I think that you're going to like this chapter.**

**It's just a little hunch ;)**

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BPOV, Two Months Later

I've taken a lot of pregnancy tests over the past year. But for some reason, this one seems scarier than all the others. It's been over two months since Edward and I started trying for a baby again, and I've been trying to be a little different this time. Instead of taking constant pregnancy tests, I'm only allowing myself to take one every two months. That way, I won't be burying myself in disappointment.

Today, I'm more optimistic than usual. After losing our first baby, I felt like I would never be able to get pregnant again. It had taken over a year for my first pregnancy to occur, and I thought it would take years for the next. But this time is a little different. I don't want to get Edward's hopes up, so I haven't told him that my period is a week late. I wasn't even going to bother taking a test, but after Edward went down to the shop this morning, I was cleaning out the bathroom and found an unused and forgotten pregnancy test under the sink, and it had been to hard to pass up.

As I waited for the five minute test, I paced back and forth in the bathroom, chewing on my thumbnail. I've had a lot of negative pregnancy tests before. And with that, I've had a lot of disappointment and pain and sorrow. But overall, I've also been able to grow and to become stronger. My relationship with my husband has been better as well, which I am grateful for. Even though I had thought marriage was the last thing I ever wanted, I had to admit that it was actually nice, being married to Edward. For some reason, it made me feel protected and more loved and cherished.

It's only been three minutes.

Sighing loudly, I stomped out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, trying to clear my head a little bit. After picking an apple up from the counter I wandered into the nursery and walked over to the side of the crib, aimlessly running my hands over the soft baby blanket that was tossed over the railing of the crib. Everything was so beautifully peaceful and warm in this room, and I loved it. Once we did have our baby, I was going to be spending a lot of time in the nursery. After losing one baby, I wanted to cherish my next as much as possible.

I waited several more minutes, forcing myself not to run into the bathroom and check the test immediately. Because what if it was another negative? I had seen it before, and I had such high hopes this time around…I made myself await another six minutes and then slowly walked into the bathroom, eyeing the small white stick that rested on the countertop in front of me. I gripped my left hand on the edge of the counter, holding on so tight that my knuckles turned white. Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I took several deep breaths and then reached for the test with my right hand, holding my breath all the while.

After saying a quick pray to Saint Felicity, I flipped the test over and my knees buckled, my legs going out from under me. I slid to the floor with the test still clutched in my hand, a thick stream of tears running down my face. My legs were still wobbly as I stood up and wiped my tears, dropping the test of the counter. I hurried out of the bathroom and down the hallway, moving as fast as my unsteady legs would carry me. After nearly tripping down the stairs, I hurried into the shop and spotted Edward immediately, standing at the desk and looking over a book of tattoo's with a customer.

Without even hesitating I practically flew to his side, throwing my arms around him and kissed him on the lips, not caring that tears were still running down my face. Edward took a step back in surprise, but quickly steadied himself and kissed me back, but stopped all to soon. "Just a moment." He murmured to the customer, who just nodded absentmindedly and continued flipping through the book of tattoo's. Edward led me into the corner of the shop, looking down at me with concern. "What's going on?" He asked me, tenderly framing my face with his large, ink stained hands. His wedding ring was cold against my cheek, and it made me smile. I loved feeling the reminder of our marriage, no matter the circumstances.

"I took a pregnancy test." I babbled as Edward used his thumbs to wipe away me tears. He froze for a moment, his green eyes wide and expectant.

He cleared his throat, looking down to my flat stomach and then back up into my eyes. "And?" He asked, sounding as terrified as I felt. I allowed myself to collapse into his arms and bury my face in his shoulder, because I couldn't contain myself any longer.

"I'm pregnant." I whispered, and Edward immediately cupped my chin in his hand and kissed me hard on the lips, smiling all the while. "I didn't think it would happen so fast." I murmured in between kisses, threading my hands in Edward's hair. "I was just cleaning out the bathroom and I found the test and decided to take it-" I paused for a moment as Edward continued to place soft kisses on my nose, cheeks, and lips. "Let's not tell anyone just yet, okay? I want to wait until the second trimester." Although I was trying to think positively, there was no way I would be able to handle telling people if I went through another miscarriage. For now, I wanted this good news to just be between Edward and I.

"Okay." Edward whispered, and then kissed me on the lips one last time before pulling away. "I'm so happy, Bella." He said softly, and I grinned, grabbing his hand and squeezing gently.

"So am I." I confirmed, and then glanced over his shoulder. "Your customer is still waiting." I said softly, in an apologetic tone. "Sorry to interrupt, but I just had to tell you _right now_."

Edward laughed and started walking back to the counter, pulling me along with him. "I'm glad you did." He said as we stepped behind the counter. "Why don't you wait down here for me to finish? I'm working the desk today, it should only be another twenty minutes or so." I nodded in agreement and perched on the stool behind the desk as Edward went back to his customer, apologizing for the interruption.

I watched Edward as he talked. Watched, not listened. I watched the way his bronze hair glinted in the light, the way he pursed his lips as the customer replied, the way his tattoo's rippled whenever his muscles flexed, and the way he was unconsciously playing his wedding ring, twisting it around on his finger.

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**Yay! Oh, and by the way, Saint Felicity is the patron saint of fertility. I remember when I was confirmed, wayyy back when I was in eighth grade, I chose her for my 'Saint Name'. I just liked her name…there was no real motivation behind the choice.**

**So what do you think of the chapter? Please review!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	21. Chapter 21

**I know, I'm so happy for them too! I have this chapter ready…it's a bit short but I won't be updating for several days so this is to tide you over. Also, this chapter and the chapters to come will be nice and happy. Edward and Bella have been through so much, so I think they deserve a little peace. Don't you?**

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BPOV, One Month Later:

"Alright Mrs. Cullen, just lay back on the table and pull your shirt up." Dr. Clearwater instructed, and I did as I was told, and then reached for Edward's hand as a source of comfort. He was seated on the stool next to me, and he absentmindedly pulled my hand up and brushed his lips again it, gently kissing my knuckles. "I know that the two of you are a little uneasy due to your recent miscarriage, but there's a very good chance that this baby will make it full term after this point, which is twelve weeks."

Edward and I both nodded, but didn't speak. We exchanged a look, and Edward's calm eyes reassured me greatly. He was always so sure and confident, and I didn't know how he managed it. The both of us stayed silent as Dr. Clearwater smeared cold gel on my stomach. In my last pregnancy, we hadn't gotten this far. It had only lasted eight weeks, and there had been no ultrasounds. We still haven't told anyone about my pregnancy, even though I'm getting a little rounder around my tummy.

"Let's see what's going on." Dr. Clearwater murmured, and used the wand to press down on my stomach. I twitched uncomfortably and glanced at the monitor, scared to death. But then I heard a clear, thudding noise, and I knew that everything would be okay. Edward exhaled loudly with relief, and kissed my hand again as Dr. Clearwater moved the wand around. "Of course, that's your baby's heartbeat…he or she is doing just fine. The fetus is just a little small, but that's alright as long as you take prenatal vitamins and keep a healthy, nutritional diet.

"I will." I promised, tears of happiness flooding my eyes.

"That's the head." Dr. Clearwater said, pointing to the monitor. "And a hand, and a leg…and there are the feet." She pointed each part, and my heart swelled. This baby was not going to be lost. "We can't determine the sex at twelve weeks, but we will be able to for your appointment at twenty four weeks. Given your history, it would also be good for you to come in at eighteen weeks, just in case." She prattled off information, and I listened carefully. I was going to do everything in my power to ensure that this baby would be healthy and perfect.

Edward was staring at the screen, a crooked smile on his face. I watched him with rapt interest, smiling as he remained transfixed on the image of our little baby. Despite his rough exterior, I knew that Edward was going to be the best father in the world. He cared and loved so much.

The rest of our appointment moved quickly, and we left with an ultrasound picture of our baby. Edward kept looking down at it as we drove home, a big smile lighting up his face. "This time, it's going to work out." He said firmly. "And our baby is going to be so beautiful." He focused back on the road, and I examined the picture again. "So, do you think it's a boy or girl?" Edward asked casually, and I smiled.

"I don't want to start a big argument." I laughed, and Edward started to say something, but then laughed as well, agreeing with me. "Maybe we should just wait until the appointment." I stipulated. "When we get home, we'll write what we think on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope, and then open it after the doctor tells us. That way, we'll know who was right." I giggled, and Edward agreed, leaning over to briefly kiss my temple before focusing on the road again.

Once we got home, I was unbelievably anxious to finally be able to tell people, especially Alice. I knew that all our friends and family would be happy for us, and I so appreciated the support. It helped a lot, believe it or not. "Hey, let's call your mom!" I said suddenly, reaching for my phone. Edward just laughed, and I dialed Esme's number excitedly.

As the phone rang, Edward pulled up to our apartment and parked in the back, and then held my car door open for me and we waited in the outdoor stairwell waiting for Esme to pick up. When she finally did, I could no longer control myself. "Esme, we've got some news for you." I said excitedly, and Esme immediately started squealed, obviously knowing what I had to share. "I'm pregnant." I said proudly, and Edward grinned and kissed the tip of my nose. Esme rattled off questions in quick succession, which I eagerly answered. "I'm twelve weeks…we waited until the second semester to tell people just in case. The baby is a little small, but healthy. I'm due in December, and Edward and I want you and Carlisle to come up and stay with us…you know, be here when the baby is born."

I continued my conversation with Esme and still wasn't able to contain myself. I felt so unbelievably happy, and I was relieved that I had been able to get pregnant again only months after my miscarriage. After a year of so much suffering, this were no longer bad. In fact, they were becoming downright wonderful.

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**They will tell Alice and Jasper and Emmet in the next chapter…and then the speed will pick up slightly. This story will have about thirty five chapters, give or take. Please review!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	22. Chapter 22

**Well…I'm sorry to say that this story is, sadly, coming to a close. These next couple of chapters will focus on bits and pieces of Bella's pregnancy, and what she and Edward feel and experience. I'm not sure how many chapters are left, but it won't be any more than six.**

**Thanks to you for all your reviews…I love you all.**

**This chapter specifically just focus on little tidbits of Bella's pregnancy and how she and Edward and handling things. It may be short, but it covers all that is needed, in my opinion. **

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BPOV

The look on Alice's face was absolutely priceless when we told her the news. "Oh my god! Bella, Edward, this is so amazing! I'm so happy for you!" She squealed, wrapping her arms around both of us and squeezing tightly. "Can I please be the godmother? And we have to go maternity clothes shopping together! I can't believe you waited twelve weeks to tell me, but I'm still so excited!"

"Whoa, Alice, come up for some air." I teased as she dropped her arms from around us and put her hands on her hips. "Thank you, first of all. And yes, we want you to be the godmother, of course. As for the maternity clothes…I don't even want to think about that right now. Oh, and for the twelve weeks thing…we just want to be sure." I added the last part softly, and Alice's face fell slightly.

Edward squeezed my hand, smiling just as brightly as Alice and I. My heart was racing, and I couldn't contain my happiness. Because it was _happening_.

_Seventeen Weeks Along:_

"Edward!" I shot up in the middle of the night, clutching my stomach tightly in disbelief.

"What?" Edward was sitting up as well in an instant, and his hand was on the small of my back. "Are you alright? What's happening? Is the baby okay?" He was asking questions so quickly I couldn't even answer him, so I kissed him soundly on the lips and then grabbed his hand in mine and pressed it firmly on my stomach, pressing down slightly. Edward froze and then gazed at me with wonder in his eyes. "It's kicking?" He asked in a hushed voice, and I nodded, unable to contain my happiness.

We were both silent for a minute, pressing our hands down and feeling our little baby for the first time. We had both harbored so much doubt for so long, and this was truly what we had been waiting for. "I thought a lot of first time mothers didn't feel the baby until the twenty second week." Edward mused.

"Some feel it as early as sixteen weeks." I informed him. Both of us had poured over baby books, in awe of what was happening inside of my body.

"It doesn't hurt you, right? I mean, what does it feel like?" Edward asked, craning his neck and staring up at me with his startlingly beautiful green eyes.

I pondered for a moment, unsure of how to properly describe the amazing feeling that was being caused by my gorgeous little baby, who I couldn't wait to meet. "No, it doesn't hurt. It just feels weird. And it's all so surreal…I've been so scared this whole time, and now I feel very at peace." I said decisively. "I love you." I whispered, and then kissed the top of Edward's head.

Edward grinned up at me. "I love you too." He murmured to me, and then turned his head and pressed a kiss to my stomach. "And I love you, baby. So much."

_Twenty Weeks Along:_

Yep, it was official. I was halfway through my pregnancy and I needed real maternity clothes. Up until now, I've been stubborn and worn stretchy yoga pants and Edward's tee shirts everywhere. But now, I've accepted that it's time for me to face my fears and go shopping with Alice. Thankfully, Edward is coming with us to try and control Alice.

"I'm fat!" I burst into tears for the third time that day, and Edward and Alice rushed to my side.

"Aw, honey, no you're not!" Alice rubbed my shoulders comfortingly, but I turned to Edward and buried my head into his chest.

He wrapped his arms around me instantly and without hesitation, hugging my gently. "Baby, you're not fat in the slightest. You're pregnant, you're supposed to gain some weight so that the baby is strong and healthy and beautiful. We talked about this last night, remember?"

I nodded, but couldn't stop crying. "I know…but I don't want to get fat!"

_Twenty Four Weeks Along:_

"You want to learn the sex, correct?" Dr. Clearwater asked, and Edward and I nodded quickly. Dr. Clearwater laughed softly and picked up the gel, squirting it on my stomach. "So, just some bases we need to cover…make sure that you're practicing your kegal exercises…and if your ankles are swollen, just try and keep off for feet for long periods of time. Make sure to call immediately if your face or fingers swell, because those could be signs of preeclampsia."

I nodded and Edward rested his chin on his hands as we both leaned in forward towards the screen. But Dr. Clearwater kept talking. "Your baby is working out waking and sleeping periods different from yours right now, which would explain the tap dance routine at two in the morning. Oh, and the fetus will now respond to music, so you can start exposing it to different types and see what your baby likes."

We nodded again, and Dr. Clearwater laughed. "I know that you're anxious, we'll get going now." Edward and I laughed and I blushed, but was relieved when Dr. Clearwater picked up the ultrasound wand and pressed down on my stomach.

As always, I held my breath until the little image of our baby appeared on the screen and the steady rhythm of it's heartbeat rang out. Every time, I was terrified, but then immensely relieved when I would realize that this baby _is going to happen_.

"Everything is looking great." Dr. Clearwater murmured. "Still a little on the small side, but perfectly healthy. And now…for the gender." Edward and I both grinned at each other as Dr. Clearwater moved the wand around and then pointed to the screen. "You can see right there, very clearly."

"Is it…" Edward leaned forward and then trailed off, grinning at me expectantly.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, congratulations. "In a few months, you are going to have a beautiful baby boy in your home."

We were both silent, and Edward then pressed a passionate kiss to my lips. "A boy." He whispered against my lips, his grin as wide as my own. "We're having a boy…" He turned his gaze to the screen in awe, and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "Thank you."

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**Aw…fluffy! So…please review, and I am going to try and update this again tomorrow, but not promises.**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	23. Chapter 23

**We have over 400 reviews! Thank you so much, guys, this is amazing! When I started this story I had no idea if people would even be interested…but apparently you are! I read every single one of your reviews, and I know I'm so bad with replying to them, but I've been trying!**

**So did you watch the Oscars? I did, and I was so happy that 'The Hurt Locker' won best picture! I watched all ten nominated movies this year (both in theaters and at home), and that was by far my favorite. I also really liked 'Precious', 'Up', and 'An Education'. And Kristen Stewart's dress was absolutely beautiful, as well as Anna Kendrick's dress. Their dresses were my favorite of the night!**

**Okay, so on with the story! This chapter very well may be short…but it's pretty fluffy. And I wanted to let you know that I'm participating in 'The Cougar Revolution' contest. I can't reveal what story I wrote, but I'm there!**

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BPOV,_ Twenty Four Weeks Along:_

We had decided that we wouldn't be telling anyone else that our baby was a boy, just because we wanted to keep it between us until the birth. Edward's smile was so wide as we walked into the apartment, it must have been hurting his cheeks. We headed straight for the envelope that had been pinned to our fridge for the last twelve weeks. It contained our guesses for the gender of the baby.

I had been wrong- I had guessed that the baby would be a girl. Alice and I had done some old wives tricks and according to each of them, the baby should have been a girl. But I was ecstatic to be having a boy, all the same.

"Okay, open the envelope." Edward said, handing it to me and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, and handing me one as well. He easily hoisted himself up on the counter, but I couldn't, so I just stood in between his legs with my back pressed up against his chest. "Come on, open it!" Edward said excitedly, ducking his head down and nipping at my neck.

I giggled and pushed him away playfully, rubbing my neck where he had gently bitten me. "Hold your horses." I said, and then slowly ripped the envelope open, dragging the process out as long as I could.

Edward rolled his eyes and grabbed the envelope, yanking the two pieces of paper out and unfolding them quickly. "Hah! You were so wrong!" He laughed, holding up my piece of paper, with the word _girl _written clearly in my handwriting. "And look at this…_I _was right!" Edward said triumphantly, holding up his piece of paper with _boy _scrawled messily across it. "I can't believe this, Bella. It just won't go through my head. We're having a _son_." He whispered in my ear, suddenly serious.

Turing my head to look up at him, I smiled and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him. "I know…it's so amazing. We need to start thinking of names." I added, reaching my hand up and tousling his hair with my hands. "God, this is happening so fast, I can hardly take it all in. I love you so much, Edward."

"I love you too, baby." Edward said softly, and then whirled me around so that he could kiss me firmly on the lips, and I couldn't help but smile when his hands immediately rested on my swollen stomach.

_Thirty Weeks Along_

For the fifth time that night, I huffed loudly and tried to get in a comfortable sleeping position. I wasn't used to having to lay on my side, usually I slept on either my back or on my stomach. But apparently lying on my left side is ideal, because one of my pregnancy books said that otherwise the weight of the baby could obstruct blood flow through my IVC, SVC, and aorta. As a result, it takes a long time for me to get comfortable at night.

Edward stirred next to me and propped himself up on his elbows, sleep still etched in his features as he looked over at me. "You okay?" He asked groggily, leaning over and kissing my nose.

"Yeah, I just can't get comfortable." I replied.

"Come here." Edward murmured, lying back down. I did so, and spooned comfortably against his side. Edward's arms around me made me so much more comfortable. "Is that better?" He asked sweetly, and I nodded sleepily.

A few more minutes passed, but both Edward and I were still wide awake. "Let's read this week's chapter in the baby book." I suggested after ten or so more minutes. Edward agreed and sat up, switching the bedside light on and grabbing the baby book from his nightstand. "Chapter 30." I reminded him, although it wasn't necessary. Edward knew exactly how far along I was.

He flipped the book open to the correct page and then cleared his throat, reading through the bullet points at the beginning of the chapter. "The early baby fuzz, lanugo, is disappearing from the baby's head and is being replaced by actual hair. Baby is almost sixteen inches long and weighs about three pounds. Some babies are already sucking their thumbs at this point."

"Wow." I whispered, and Edward nodded, kissing the top of my head before continuing.

"It's possible for the baby to cry actual tears, even while inside the womb." At this point, Edward reached his hand out and started rubbing soothing circles on my belly. "The brain is growing rapidly, developing billions of new nerve cells. The brain will not reach full size until the baby is five years old." Edward paused again, clearing his throat. But instead of continuing, he shut the book and turned to me. "It's so surreal that all of this is going on inside you." He said softly, stretching his hand across my stomach in awe.

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**Okay…It's dinner time. Jensen has to work, so Paul and Ollie and I are getting Chinese food!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie **


	24. Chapter 24

**This chapter is a big deal guys! Please review and let me know what you think, it would be much appreciated!**

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BPOV,_ Thirty Seven Weeks Along:_

"Well, Bella, the baby has dropped now, which means he is floating freely and has sunk down to your pelvis. You'll probably find yourself visiting the bathroom much more, because your little guy is resting on top of your bladder." Dr. Clearwater said, snapping on her rubber gloves on as she spoke. "Now just lie back and put your feet up for me, because I need to check out the condition of your cervix."

I did as she said, and Edward sat up by my head, waiting patiently with his hands folded across his lap, his eyes trained on Dr. Clearwater.

"We're going to check to see if your cervix has moved forward, if it has begun to grow thinner, and if it has started to dilate."

"What if I go into labor at this point?" I asked curiously as Dr. Clearwater started the exam.

She was silent for a moment, checking everything out, and then she rolled her chair back and removed her latex gloves done with the exam already. "If you do go into labor, we're not going to stop it. At this point, it's only a matter of time." Dr. Clearwater said, throwing her gloves away and washing her hands. "Interesting fact: your baby's knees and elbows are developing dimples."

I grinned, rubbing my hands across my swollen stomach. "I'm so excited." I admitted, and Dr. Clearwater laughed.

"Of course you are! This is a big deal. Are you all prepared for the new addition to your family?"

Edward spoke up this time, smiling easily. "Yes, we have the nursery done and we've gone to birthing classes and Lamaze classes and we've been practicing how to put on diapers." He said, and Dr. Clearwater nodded. "When Bella starts having contractions, when should be come to the hospital? The book said ten minutes, but-"

"Well, we usually recommend you to come in when the contractions are five to seven minutes apart. You could come in earlier, but you won't need to. For a firstborn child, labor usually lasts longer. The longest delivery I've been present for was forty two hours, and eventually they managed to convince the mother to have a caesarean. But don't worry, most labors do not last nearly that long. Have you thought about pain medication yet?"

I nodded as did Edward. "Yes, I'm definitely getting an epidural." I laughed. "I'm not good with pain of any kind…but I also hate needles.

"Really?" Dr. Clearwater asked curiously. "I noticed that you have two tattoos'…"

Edward laughed, rubbing his forehead. "The first one was all me." He admitted. "The second one…" He trailed off uncomfortably, and I stepped in.

"Edward and I both got tattoo's after we lost our first baby." I explained.

Dr. Clearwater nodded understandingly, and patted my hand. "I'm very glad that things worked out for the two of you. Over these past few months, I've come to find that you're an amazing couple and I'm sure you're going to be great parents."

"Thank you." Edward and I said in unison, and I continued to ask questions. "Um, I've noticed some…uh, cervical mucus. Is that normal?" I asked nervously, but Dr. Clearwater nodded reassuringly, telling me that a lot of woman experienced that. "And what are some signs of labor? I've read things in books, but I wanted to check up with you as well."

Edward leaned forward as well, obviously curious as well. Dr. Clearwater launched into an explanation, which we both appreciated. "Some women go into false labor, so it is important to know the signs that labor is starting. First of all, you'll get regular contractions that grow longer, stronger, and closer together. Also, your water will break and you'll have a regular, rhythmic backache. Like I said before, you don't have to come into the hospital until contractions are five to seven minutes apart, but another way to judge things is through your abilities during contractions. If you can talk normally through a contraction, you're in the clear." Dr. Clearwater explained. "Also, your son is now surrounded by around four cups of amniotic fluid. It doesn't sound like much, but it'll seem like a damn has broken when your water actually does break."

"At thirty seven weeks, how developed are the lungs?" I questioned, because I was afraid of what going into labor right now would mean for the baby.

"If you went into labor now, the baby would be perfectly healthy." Dr. Clearwater assured me. "The cortisone that is now being produced by his endocrine system will help his lungs to take over delivering oxygen to the blood stream after birth. Also, the lanugo on your baby's skin is completely wearing off, and you're obviously noticing when you're baby has the hiccups." Dr. Clearwater laughed as my stomach jumped obviously.

Edward laughed as well, putting his hand on my stomach and patting it affectionately.

Dr. Clearwater checked her watch, sighing. "I've got to get going, I have another patient scheduled." She said, and Edward stood up and then helped me get down from the table. "You can just get dressed and I'll see the two of you for the birth in about three weeks!"

When she said that, _three weeks_, Edward and I both paused. Three weeks. In three weeks, we would become parents.

_Thirty Nine Weeks Along:_

"How are you doing?" Edward asked softly, massaging my shoulders and kissing the top of my head.

"I'm doing fine." I assured him. "My contractions are nine minutes apart." I said, breathing through my nose. "We'll go to the hospital at six minutes, okay? My water hasn't broken yet- we have time." I said firmly, trying to convince myself more than I was trying to convince my husband.

Esme, who was sitting on the couch next to me, patted my arm. "You're doing great, Bella. When I was in labor with Edward, I was screaming my head off with my contractions. And when I was in labor with Emmet, I went to the hospital as soon as my contractions started and was so anxious to get things over with. Of course, he was my last child and I just wanted him _out_." She laughed, and Edward chuckled as well. "Aw, Edward…you were my cute little firstborn." She cooed, pinching his cheek as he made a face.

"Your bag is in the car, right?" Carlisle asked, emerging from the kitchen with a drink in hand.

"Yep, all packed." I said as I felt another contraction rip through me. "Ughh…Edward, contractions are eight minutes apart." I warned him, and he gripped my hand tightly in his. "I'm scared." I whispered, and Esme laughed.

She shook her head and gazed at Edward and I. "You two are going to be great parents; you have nothing to worry about. I know that it all seems scary right now, but soon enough, you'll have that baby in your arms and it will all fall into place." She assured us. "Plus, Carlisle and I will be here for the first month to help you both out a little bit."

Edward nodded graciously, smiling at his mother. "Yeah, and thanks for that. We really appreciate it."

I smiled nervously, because in no time at all my son will be born and I will become a mother.

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It's been twelve hours. I shifted uncomfortably in my hospital bed and started breathing heavily as another contraction started up. I was dilated six centimeters, and my contractions were three minutes apart. Edward had been pacing nervously around my hospital room for the past hour, running his hands through his hair. "Are you doing okay?" He asked anxiously, and I smiled reassuringly as my contraction passed.

"I'm fine, Edward." I assured him in a soft whisper. "Why don't you get me some more ice chips?" He nodded, hurrying out of the room like a man with a mission.

Carlisle laughed quietly as Edward left the room. Esme was in the cafeteria with Emmet and Jasper and Alice, but they would be back soon. Edward and Carlisle had been in the room with me, but now it was just Carlisle. He moved over from his chair in the corner and sat on the corner of my bed, his eyes crinkling as he smiled at me. "You're going great." He assured me, patting my leg gently.

I smiled and ran my hands over my stomach, trying to breathe normally. "I'm still scared. I mean…what happened to your wife…" Carlisle smiled uneasily, scratching his forehead.

"Bella, that is not going to happen to you." He said in a firm voice. "What happened to Elizabeth…it won't happen to you. I know it won't. Things are different now, and you are a lot stronger than my wife was. You and the baby are both going to be fine." He said, and it was easy to believe him. I would do this and everything would be just fine.

"Hey…don't tell Esme, but Edward and I found out the sex and we're planning for his middle name to be Anthony." I said softly, and Carlisle smiled, wiping at his eyes.

After a long talk, Edward and I had picked a first name we both loved, and had decided on the middle name of Anthony. We had considered Edward's middle name, Masen, but had eventually chosen Anthony. Carlisle had done a lot for us through this whole process, and I felt like we both owed him this.

"Thank you so much, Bella. That means a lot." Carlisle said softly, standing up and giving me a big hug. "Thank you."

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After fifteen hours and a lot of pain, our son was born.

Gavin Anthony Cullen weighed in at six pounds 2 ounces, and nineteen inches long. He was a little tiny, but he was also absolutely perfect. He had ten toes and ten fingers and a dusting of light brown hair. His lips with pouty and he was the most beautiful baby in the world. I loved the way he fit perfectly in my arms, I loved the way he was warm and tiny against me, I loved that he had lived inside my belly for nine months, and I loved every little thing about my newborn son.

To put things quietly simply, I loved my son more than the world itself.

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**Aw…review! I guesstimate one more long chapter, or maybe two chapters moderate in length. **

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	25. Chapter 25

**Sigh…it's the end of the road for 'Painted'. I honestly didn't see this coming! Things have been moving so fast in the story and I just looked at the outline and it was then that I realized I only had one more chapter planned! I'm trying to make this one extra long for you, and I want it to span over a few months or maybe any years. We'll just have to see how this goes!**

**I have been meaning to update 'Best', but I just haven't been able to get around to it. I'll work on it and hopefully I can get the next chapter out tomorrow night.**

**So one last time, thank you to every single one of you for your love, ideas, support, compliments, criticism, thoughts, and reviews. They mean a lot to me and thank you also for sticking through this entire story, even when things got bad. **

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BPOV, _The Birth and Visiting_:

The moment his cries met my ears, I was immediately able to relax. Our son was here, and he was healthy. I was in a haze as I watched Edward cut the cord, and watched as a nurse took our baby to get him all cleaned up. Edward returned to my side, smiling. "Hey, B." He whispered, kissing my forehead and pushing my sweaty hair out of my face.

"Hey." I said softly, letting my head drop back onto the pillow in pure exhaustion. I felt so…drained. "Is he okay?" I asked groggily, picking my head up and trying to get a look at my son.

Edward laughed and kissed me softly on the lips, framing my face with his hands. "He's perfectly healthy, love." He said, just as the nurse approached with a tightly swathed blue bundle in her arms. "Here he is." He murmured, and took our son from the nurse carefully. Edward pushed the blanket back slightly and kissed the top of the baby's head, not even bothering to contain the huge smile that was on his face. "He's perfect, Bella." Edward said to me, his voice low and laced with love and reverence.

I held out my arms and Edward gently handed me our son. And the moment that our baby was placed in my arms, I started to cry. I was so _happy_. It was unbelievable that I have a son, unbelievable how amazingly well my life has worked out. I had my husband and my son and a wonderful family and an apartment that Edward and I owned. We had everything that we needed and wanted. "Oh my god, Edward, I can't believe this." I said, kissing the baby's pudgy cheeks repeatedly.

Newborn babies are not all that cute. They're red in the face and caked in white stuff and their heads are a little pointy. But my son is beautiful just in the fact that Edward and I created him together. "Oh…he's so beautiful, so beautiful." I whispered, and Edward stroked my cheek gently. "I think he'll have your hair…look at this." I carefully ruffled the dusting of light brown hair that dusted the top of his head.

"Hmm, looks like it." Edward mused. "Do you want me to go get our parents and Alice and Jasper and Emmet?" He asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Yeah, sure. Only three at a time, please." I said serenely, not wanting to be overwhelmed.

Esme and Carlisle had been staying with us for the last week and a half, but my parents had both come when we let them know that I was in labor. My dad had come from Port Angeles, Washington, and my mom and my stepfather had come all the way from Jacksonville, Florida. I hadn't seen my parents for about a year, and I was anxious to see both of them again. Ever since Edward and I had gotten married, it was a little easier for me to see why my parents had split up. They didn't love each other like Edward and I did. If they had stayed together just for me, they would have been miserable and hateful towards each other. At least this way, they could be happy.

Edward kissed each of us, and then headed outside into the waiting room. First to join us were Esme, Carlisle, and Ed, all of them looking very excited. "Oh…" Esme was at my side first, and she kissed my cheek and then kissed her grandson's nose. "He's adorable." She said softly, and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear for me. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Edward and I said in unison.

Carlisle stepped forward next, and he kissed my cheek as well before gently touching the baby's cheek. "Esme's right, he's adorable. What's his full name?" He asked, smiling at me and Edward.

"Gavin Anthony Cullen." I said softly, cradling Gavin to my chest. At the mention of my son's middle name, Esme gently touched Carlisle's shoulder, a sad smile on her face and a glassy look in her eyes.

"He sure is amazing." Ed said, giving Edward a hug and then patting my shoulder, smiling proudly as he looked at his first grandson.

"Would it be alright if I held him?" Esme asked, and I nodded quickly, kissing Gavin's forehead before carefully holding him out to my mother in law. "Aw…so perfect." She said, holding him in her arms. "You know, he looks almost exactly like Edward did as a baby." She mused, and Ed stepped forward, looking over his ex wife's shoulder at Gavin.

He cocked his hand to the side, nodding. "He does. Bella, it looks like you have another troublemaker and heartbreaker on your hands."

"Aw, never." I laughed, reaching out and taking Edward's hand in mine.

"I was never a heartbreaker, and only a little bit of a troublemaker, dad." Edward protested, although he couldn't stop smiling, and neither could I.

Ed and Carlisle and Esme all laughed, and Esme passed Gavin off to Carlisle, who held him for a while before handing him to Ed. We visited for several more minutes before Ed handed Gavin to Carlisle and they left, promising to come back and visit again. Carlisle and Esme would be staying with Edward, Gavin, and I for the next month, so they would be seeing plenty of their grandson. However, Ed would be leaving early tomorrow morning to head back to Vegas.

After the three of them left, we had a few minutes to ourselves before my mother, Renée, my stepfather Phil, and my father Charlie came into the room, smiling widely and calling out their congratulations. Renée was at my side in an instant, holding her arms out so that she could hold her grandson. Laughing, I put Gavin in her arms and watched as her face soften and her eyes lit up. I never got to see much of my mother, and I liked seeing her so happy. I was also glad that I had finally given her a grandchild that she could love and spoil like no other.

"Where did you come up with the name?" Charlie questioned as Renée handed Gavin over to him. Charlie had a rough and tough exterior, but he just _melted_ with his grandson in his arms.

"The first name we just got from a book." I explained, not taking my eyes off of my baby. "We both loved it right away. And his middle name…is a little more complicated. Carlisle, who is with Esme, lost his son as an infant. His name was Anthony, and Edward and I just felt like we owed Carlisle something. Plus, we love the name and had a big debate about if it should have been his first name or his middle name. Obviously, we chose it to be his middle name in the end."

Renée laughed as Charlie handed Gavin over for Phil to hold. "Well, honey, he's a gorgeous little baby." She said, kissing me on the forehead and putting her arm around my shoulders. "Congratulations to both of you, I know you're going to be wonderful parents.

"Thank you, Renée." Edward said, and Renée put her arm around his waist, squeezing gently.

"Yes, thanks mom. We appreciate it." I said honestly.

The five of us talked for about half an hour, but then they had to leave and head back to their homes and they wouldn't see us again for quite some time. After tearful goodbyes, the three of them left and headed off in their different directions, and Alice, Jasper, and Emmet came into the room, toting offerings of balloons, stuffed animals, and presents.

Alice's squeal pierced my ears, but I just laughed and offered her Gavin, and Edward quickly warned her to quiet down and stop jumping around while she was holding his son. Jasper held him as well, but Emmet refused, saying that he didn't want Edward to have to kill him if he accidentally dropped Gavin or something. At that, Edward immediately handed Gavin back to me, and I laughed, loving that it was my job to keep him safe.

_Nursing (One Week Old):_

"Am I doing it right?" I asked nervously, and Esme looked over at me, nodding.

"Bella, you're doing great. He knows what to do." Esme assured me, and I sighed, tightening my arms around Gavin as I nursed him.

I exhaled as he latched on and successfully nursed. I was so scared of messing up…it was terrifying. Edward and I finally had Gavin, and I didn't want to do anything wrong. I knew that I couldn't protect him forever, but I _wanted too_. He was my baby, and I didn't want him to grow up any faster than he needed to. He was only a week old and I already felt like he was slipping out of my grasp and growing up, when I really had eighteen more years of him being mine and Edward's responsibility.

_Feeding (Six Months Old):_

"Gavin! Gavvvv!" I cooed at my son, making funny faces at him as we laid on the couch. I was lying back on my back and Gavin was perched on my stomach, playing with the ends of my hair and cooing back at me, also mimicking some of the faces I was making.

Right then, Edward came in the door, done with work. "Hey." He said, leaning over the side of the couch and kissing me and then tickling Gavin's round little belly. "How's my little guy doing?" He asked, kissing the top of Gavin's head. Gavin giggled and kicked his feet, looking up at Edward with a cute little smile on his face. "I'll be right back." Edward promised, retreating into the bedroom.

Sure enough, he remerged seconds later shirtless with a different shirt in his hands. "Wait." I paused him before he put his new shirt on. "I want to see your tattoo's…how are they healing?" I asked, and Edward stepped closer.

"Pretty good." He said, and I examined the two new tattoo's.

One of the was right under his tattoo of my name, over his heart, and was beautifully done in the same flawless font, bearing Gavin's name and birth date. Also, on his arm was a vine of ivy. Dripping from one of the leaves was Gavin's name, and my name also hung among the leaves, and Edward's name did as well. It was our family tree. And hopefully, over time, there would be another addition.

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**ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO. Yep, I didn't have enough time to finish it all up tonight so the last chapter will be posted either tomorrow night or Thursday night.**

**Thanks once again.**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	26. Chapter 26

**This is it. The final chapter, for real. I loved this storyline so much, as well as the characters.**

**Obviously, I never got a chance to update 'Best'. You'll get the next chapter for that tomorrow, I promise.**

**Please review, I want to get over 500 reviews for this story!**

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BPOV, _Eleven Months Old_

I winced as the needle hit my bone, hissing through my teeth. "Sorry." Edward murmured, using a rag to collect the pooling ink. "You doing okay?" He asked, and I nodded, scratching my nails gently across Gavin's back.

"Yeah, I'm good." I said, moving my foot slightly.

I was getting a tattoo of Gavin's name on my foot, and it hurt worse than I remembered. Gavin was sitting on my lap, because he had refused to let go of me when I attempted to hand him off to Alice. So I was sitting down and had my foot in Edward's lap while Gavin sat on my lap, watching with wide eyes as Edward carefully tattooed my skin. "Da." Gavin said excitedly, looking to me and then back down at Edward.

Laughing, I kissed my son's head. "Daddy." I nodded, pointing to Edward, who smiled up at us and then resumed his work. "You're my smart boy." I said proudly, and Gavin clapped his hands excitedly.

Gavin was such a _happy _baby. He loved watching himself in the mirror and holding his toys. And he was very smart, too. He understood if I gave him something and said 'bring this to daddy', and he knew what 'no' meant. Edward and I marveled every day at our son and the joy that he was bringing to our lives. I loved being a mother more than I could ever really express. I loved nearly everything about it, and each day brought something new.

Every morning, Edward woke up before me, took a shower, and got Gavin out of his crib and into the kitchen, at which point I would wake up to make them both breakfast. After 'family breakfast time', Edward would kiss each of us goodbye and Gavin would wave 'bye-bye' as his daddy left the apartment to go downstairs to the shop. Then Gavin and I would play for a while, then he'd go in his playpen while I did stuff around the apartment. It was such a wonderful, comfortable routine.

Parenthood has changed both Edward and I so much. Looking at Edward, with his sleeves of tattoo's, tongue ring, and laid back attitude, other people would never expect him to be such an amazing father. But I knew him, and I adored the way he was with our son. Jasper laughed his ass off the first time he heard Edward say 'bye-bye', but it was all part of the entire experience. Being a parent meant _changing_, at least in some ways. Edward and I had gone through changes, without a doubt. We could no longer have sex in the middle of the apartment, stay up too late at night, go out and get drunk, have dinner out all the time, or anything like that. We were different.

_Thirteen Months:_

"Ma-ma!" Gavin called, and I whirled around with my hands on my hips. Gavin was holding onto the counter triumphantly, opening and closing the cabinet doors with a grin on his face.

"Hey!" I shook my finger at him, scooping him up into my arms. "Don't do that." I scolded him, walking around the kitchen anxiously. I had a lot to do today, and I couldn't really have him underfoot. So I slipped my shoes on and headed downstairs, walking into the shop. Edward was nowhere to be seen, but Alice was standing at the desk and there were customers waiting on the couch. "Alice, can you watch Gavin for a little bit?" I asked, as Gavin molded himself to my side, afraid of all the strangers around him. He was just fine with Alice, but strangers scared him.

Alice looked up skeptically, but I set Gavin down at my feet and clasped my hands together. "Are you sure you want me to watch him?" She asked.

"Alice, come on, it'll be fine." I urged her. "Just watch him for a little while until Edward finishes up, and then have him take Gavin." I said, leaning down and kissing the top of Gavin's head. He shook his head frantically and clung to my legs, but I had to make myself step away. I needed to learn how to be away from him. I was with my son so often, and I was worried of becoming a little too attached and clingy.

Nervously, Alice picked him up and balanced him on her hip. "Is this okay?" She asked nervously, and I nodded with a small smile on her face. Alice glanced at the clock and her face lit up. "Oh, honey, Emmet will be here in ten minutes so I can leave then. I'll bring Gavin up and watch him for you while you work." She promised.

"Sounds great. Thanks, Alice." I said easily, and then waved at Gavin. He smiled and waved back, and I headed upstairs.

I really didn't like being away from him, but I knew that it was important that we not get too attached. I took my time alone to tidy up the apartment, and just when I finished picking up Alice walked in, holding Gavin. "Hey, Ali." I said, emerging from the kitchen with two bottles of water. I held one out to her, and she took it gratefully. "We can sit and talk for a little while." I offered, and Alice and I plopped down on the couch. Gavin extracted himself from Alice's arms and crawled onto my lap, smiling preciously and putting his arms around my neck. He buried his face in my chest and I laughed, playing his the curls on the nape of his neck.

"How have you been?" Alice asked curiously, taking a drink of her water. "We haven't talked in ages!"

"Oh, I know. It has been a long time…but I'm doing good. What about you?" I asked, leaning back.

Alice shrugged her shoulders, watching as Gavin wriggled off of my lap and slid to the floor. He crawled over to his toys and started putting all of them in their containers, causing Alice to giggle. "Ha! He cleans for you!" She laughed, and I held up my index finger, gesturing for her to wait and continue watching. The two of us watched Gavin as he placed all of his blocks in their container, and then turned to us with a devilish smile on his face. Giggling, he picked up the box of blocks and dumped it over, scattering the blocks all over the living room floor.

"_That's _what he does." I laughed as Gavin restarted the whole process. Alice shook her head, laughing.

"Aw, Bella…he's so adorable." She said serenely. As she spoke, Gavin stood up shakily with a block in his hand, grabbing onto the edge of the sofa and using it to stand upright as he made his way back over to Alice and I. Instead of going to me, however, he held his arms out to Alice. She looked at me in surprise, but pulled Gavin onto her lap. "Hi." She said softly, and Gavin thrust his toy out towards her with a charming smile on his face. "Aw…thanks!" Alice said, accepting the block.

I snickered and watched as Gavin's smile turned into a pout and he grabbed the toy back from Alice. She rolled her eyes and turned back to me. "Did I tell you that Jasper asked me my ring size?" She asked me, waggling her eyebrows.

"Oh my god, he did?" I asked, staring at her in shock. "So…is he going to propose?" I asked, and Alice grinned.

The smile on her face was bright, and I was truly happy for her. "I think so. I'm excited." She said nonchalantly, softly touching Gavin's arm. "And I think once we get married, I'm going to want one of these…babies are so cute." Alice said, and I laughed.

A lot of people underestimated what it was like to have a child. Yes, Gavin was adorable, but he was also a lot of work. "Why don't you spend the day with Gavin and I?" I suggested. "That way, you can get a feel of what it's like to be a mommy."

"Sure, sounds good." Alice said, and I stood up from the couch, walking towards Gavin.

"Come on, let's go for a walk." I suggested, picking up Gavin and handing him to Alice. She nodded and started for the door, but I quickly stopped her. "Alice, its January. He needs a coat and a hat, plus some shoes." I said gently, taking her elbow and guiding her into the nursery. "Put him down on the changing table, and you can get him dressed."

Alice did as I said and I handed her Gavin's coat. As fumbling with it for a few seconds, she managed to get one of the sleeves ready. Gavin watched her silently with a curious expression on her face, but dutifully held his arm out as she tried to jam the coat on him. "Sorry." Alice apologized as Gavin shirked away from her as she accidentally yanked on his arm.

"It's fine." I said softly, stepping forward and helping her out. "Gavy, give me your foot." I cooed, and Gavin giggled, kicking his foot out towards me as I slipped his shoes on and then his hat. As I started to pick him up from the changing him, he grabbed for his stuffed turtle, the one Edward had bought me during my first pregnancy. Gavin _loved _that turtle, and took it with him whenever we left the house. I tried to hand him another stuffed animal, but he pushed it away and held tightly to his stuffed turtle. "Ugh." I rolled my eyes and turned around to put the toy away, Alice laughed.

"Uh, Bella…" I turned around and saw that Gavin had yanked off his hat and dropped it to the floor, and was now looking at me with a proud smile on his face.

"You little rascal." I grumbled, bending down to pick up the hat. "Keep it on." I said firmly, putting the hat back on his head and then pulling him into my arms. As we passed the mirror in his room, Gavin cooed and clapped as he saw his reflection, and I glanced at Alice. "He loves his reflection." I explained. "He must know how good looking he is!"

Alice laughed again as we left the apartment and headed down to the shop to let Edward know we were heading out for a while. I peeked my head into the back room where he was working, and rubbed his shoulder. "Hey, babe, Alice and I are taking Gavin on a walk." I said. "We'll be back later."

"Okay, have fun. Love you, B." Edward said, pecking me quickly on the lips before resuming his work.

"Love you too." I said easily, and then left the room. Alice and I headed out and I held Gavin, trying to ignore him as he squirmed and whined in my arms. Alice watched us, grimacing when Gavin grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked hard. "No." I said firmly, batting his hand away and giving him a disapproving look.

He dropped my hair shamefully and looked in the other direction, taking in the bustling surroundings. When he saw a billboard for his favorite television show, he gasped anxiously and bounced in my arms, pointing happily.

Luckily, Alice saw both some fun and challenging parts of being a parent. As much as I loved my son, I had to admit that sometimes I got overwhelmed, and I knew that Edward did too. I'm not saying we regret becoming parents, because we definitely loved it even more than we thought we would. My son and my husband are the best things that have ever happened to me, and it's hard to take in all the amazing moments of my life.

One thing I am especially looking forward to is the birth of our second child. I haven't told anymore yet, not even Edward, but when I went to the doctor yesterday for a normal check up, I discovered that I am almost two months pregnant. I touched my stomach fleetingly, smiling down at my son and thinking about our next child.

Edward and I, we could do this.

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**The End. **

**Seriously, it's over. Might do a sequel in the future, but I'm not really sure. I'll just have to let you know, I guess, and just put me on Author Alert. So…what did you all think of the entire story now that it's all over? I would love to hear your thoughts and input, so please review!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


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